Armenia's Constitution Turns 28: Today is Constitution Day

Armenia is celebrating Constitution Day today. The founding law is now 28 years old, and the day is considered a non-working day.

On this day in 1995, the draft of the country's Main law was presented for a nationwide referendum. The opposition at the time claimed that the results of the referendum were falsified; however, according to official data, the Constitution was adopted. This was the first Constitution of independent Armenia.

Ten years later, on November 27, 2005, a constitutional referendum was held again, during which citizens approved changes to the main document. These amendments expanded the powers of the parliament. The majority of society boycotted the referendum on constitutional amendments at the opposition's call, but officially, the referendum was considered valid, and the changes were adopted.

The Constitution was also amended in 2015. Specifically, a constitutional referendum took place on December 6, 2015, according to which Armenia transitioned to a parliamentary governance system. Consequently, there will no longer be presidential elections by popular vote. Following the shift to parliamentary governance, the President of Armenia was elected by the National Assembly formed as a result of the 2017 parliamentary elections and the institute of electors.

It should be noted that according to the first and second articles of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, Armenia is a sovereign, democratic, social, and legal state, and the power of the Republic of Armenia belongs to the people.

According to the law on