If the People Do Not Participate in the Vote, the Constitution Will Not Be Adopted: MP from the CP

The question of whether or not we will change the Constitution of Armenia is our internal matter. This was stated by Gevorg Papoyan, Chairman of the Financial-Budgetary Committee of the National Assembly and MP from the ruling Civil Contract party, during a conversation with journalists today in the Parliament, addressing the continuing demands of Azerbaijan to change the Constitution of Armenia, in which they believe there are territorial aspirations towards Azerbaijan.

“There are very clear subjects who can make changes to the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. If any of those subjects decides to exercise that right, they will make such a proposal to the legislator, that is, the people, and the people will decide whether to change it or not. This is absolutely a decision of those subjects entitled to make such decisions, and it is absolutely the decision of the subject, the legislator, that either accepts or does not accept that proposal, that is, the people’s decision. This is completely related to the organization and regulation of internal affairs in Armenia. It cannot in any way be linked to the demands of any country; it is unacceptable, it cannot happen, and it certainly will not happen,” he said.

When asked whether all the provisions that Azerbaijan has problems with would change, Papoyan did not give a clear answer, stating: “If at least 25 percent of the eligible voters in Armenia gather and if more than 50 percent of that group votes in favor, then the Constitution will change in Armenia, or there will be constitutional changes. If that does not happen, then the Constitution will not change. This means that the people will change the Constitution in Armenia, and if there is something that the people have a problem with, they will not vote in favor.”

He emphasized that there have been no falsifications in elections in Armenia since 2018, and there will not be. “If the Constitution is changed by referendum, we all need to be reconciled with that decision; if it is not accepted, we must also be reconciled. It is unacceptable that even one vote is falsified, and it should not be falsified. I myself will fight to ensure that not a single vote is falsified. The victory is not about what is chosen in the Constitution according to my heart or yours, but about what corresponds to the heart of the people and the voting of the majority of the people.”

Our issue stems from the fact that some elites have decided that it must be this way and then got elected through electoral fraud, passing through referendums. If the content corresponds to the heart of the people, then that is correct; if that content does not correspond to the heart of the people, then that is wrong, regardless of what is written there.

When asked whether the people had asked to change the Constitution, the CP MP reiterated that there are subjects who can change the Constitution, among which are the people, the National Assembly, and so on. “What matters is not that; rather, it is that the people will decide. Previously, if the government said that constitutional changes were necessary, they would definitely occur. That is not the case now; if the people do not participate in that vote, the Constitution will not be adopted. Now the voice of the people is heard,” he noted.

In response to the observation that if the people vote against it, Azerbaijan will understand that the people of Armenia are against the removal of the well-known reference of the Declaration of Independence, whether that would deter Baku or, on the contrary, Papoyan said, “These are questions that are interrelated.”