06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Citizens' right to appeal was strengthened by changes approved in the 2005 constitutional referendum and enacted into law on July 1 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 20192]

"Citizens' right to appeal was strengthened by changes approved in the 2005 constitutional referendum and enacted into law on July 1. These changes gave ordinary citizens the right to appeal to the Constitutional Court, which previously could only accept cases proposed by the president and approved by a two‑thirds majority of the National Assembly or cases involving election‑related issues brought by the National Assembly or presidential candidates.
Changes to the constitution which allowed citizens to bring appeals to the Constitutional Court took effect on July 1. From that date through August 22, 288 citizens appealed to the court, which immediately threw out more than 60 percent of the cases, because they did not call into question a law's constitutionality and thus were not within the court's mandate. Of the remaining 109 appeals, hearings were scheduled for 13. The first hearings took place September 12 through November 14."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Series of constitutional amendments were approved by a national referendum which made potentially significant changes in the division of powers between the branches ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 20224]

"In November 2005 a series of constitutional amendments were approved by a national referendum which made potentially significant changes in the division of powers between the branches. Although the balloting was conducted mostly without incident, Council of Europe observers reported discrepancies between the reported results and the apparent lack of turnout (a two-thirds majority of all registered voters was required for adoption, and a previous constitutional referendum had failed for lack of turnout). Domestic observers reported ballot stuffing, unauthorized individuals accompanying voters to the voting booths and ballot boxes to instruct them on how to vote, and intimidation of opposition observers. As it was technically not required to do so, the government declined to invite the OSCE to observe the voting process."

Document(s): Open document

07.2006 - Source: Freedom House

Serious doubts on the credibility of constitutional referendum; turnout much lower than officially declared ("Countries at the Crossroads 2006") [ID 17681]

"The disputed constitutional referendum held on November 27, 2005, underscored the country's culture of electoral fraud. A monitoring team from the Council of Europe cast serious doubt on the credibility of the official results, according to which nearly two-thirds of Armenia's 2.3 million eligible voters took part in the referendum, and over 93 percent of them backed President Kocharian's constitutional changes. "The extremely low voting activity did not correspond to the high figures provided by the electoral commissions," the observers said in a statement.1 The Armenian opposition, which boycotted the vote, put the turnout at about 16 percent.
The disputed referendum reinforced the widely held belief that Armenians cannot change their leadership through elections. The nation's sole post-Soviet regime change, in February 1998, was the result of government infighting rather than the expression of popular will. Free and fair elections have proved elusive despite frequent changes to electoral legislation that are supposed to inhibit chronic vote rigging. But the legal amendments have been rendered meaningless by the Armenian leaders' evident reluctance to let the public decide whether or not they should remain in power. Furthermore, the amendments have not weakened the regime's tight grip on the election commissions. The legally guaranteed equal campaigning opportunities exist only on paper, with state television and the private networks controlled by Kocharian routinely providing extremely biased coverage of opposition activities. Campaigning for the referendum was no exception."

Document(s): Open document

07.2006 - Source: Freedom House

Constitutional amendments shift powers from president to cabinet of ministers and the parliament; opposition dismissed changes as insignificant ("Countries at the Crossroads 2006") [ID 17689]

"Armenia's democratization has also been hampered by an extremely lopsided system of governance that gives sweeping powers to the president of the republic. The constitutional amendments, approved in the referendum and adopted, gave some of those powers to the cabinet of ministers and parliament. The president, for example, will no longer be able to sack the prime minister and dissolve the National Assembly at will. His authority to appoint and dismiss virtually all judges will also be somewhat restricted. The United States, the European Union, and the Council of Europe endorsed those amendments. But the Armenian opposition dismissed them as insignificant and said the authorities should respect the existing laws in the first place.

Despite the constitutional reform, the Armenian president will remain by far the most powerful state official. In particular, he will continue to form single-handedly the State Civil Service Council that oversees the government bureaucracy. This council was set up in 2002 in accordance with a new law intended to protect civil servants against arbitrary dismissal, cleanse government agencies of incompetent officials, and create a merit-based system. The council, according to its chairman, Manvel Badalian, fired about 350 civil servants and hired more than 1,350 others on a competitive basis by November 2004.3 But critics say that the selection process, which includes an oral interview, is discretionary and open to abuse."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Irregularities during referendum on constitutional reform reported; amendments, however, represent step towards strengthening democratic institutions ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46111],  [ID 17110]

"On November 27, a series of constitutional amendments were approved by a national referendum. The amendments included such changes as provisions that the president no longer may dismiss the prime minister without a parliamentary no-confidence vote, and the president's candidate for prime minister must now be supported by a parliamentary majority, and provided for increases in judicial council independence to lessen presidential influence on judicial appointments and dismissals. While these amendments represent a step toward establishing a system of democratic institutions with checks on the power of the president and a more independent judiciary, international and domestic observers noted election abuses marred the referendum. Domestic observers also criticized the "insufficient" level of public inclusion in developing the amendments. While the balloting was conducted mostly without incident, Council of Europe observers reported discrepancies between the reported results and the apparent lack of turnout. Domestic observers reported ballot stuffing, unauthorized individuals accompanying voters to the voting booths and ballot boxes to instruct them on how to vote, and intimidation of opposition observers. Further, the government declined to invite the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to observe the voting process."

Document(s): Open document

20.01.2006 - Source: Armenialiberty

Leaders of pro-government parliamentary majority speak our against opposition demands for parliamentary investigation into reported fraud at constitutional referendum ("Parliament majority leaders opposed to referendum fraud inquiry") [#42717],  [ID 2697]

Document(s): Open document

19.01.2006 - Source: Armenialiberty

Central Election Commission rejects record indicating large-scale falsification of last Novermber's constitutional referendum results ("Election body shrugs off opposition 'proof' of referendum fraud") [#42716],  [ID 2698]

Document(s): Open document

13.01.2006 - Source: Armenialiberty

Charges set up against three men involved in election fraud for multiple voting at constitutional referendum; first charges because of election fraud in Armenia's history ("Prosecutors bring first charges of election fraud in Armenia") [#42713],  [ID 2699]

Document(s): Open document

22.12.2005 - Source: Council of Europe - Parliamentary Assembly

Report on referendum on constitutional reforms on 27 November (political and legal context, awareness-raising campaign, voting process, outcome and aftermath) ("Ad hoc Committee to observe the referendum on the constitutional reforms in Armenia (27 november 2005) [Doc. 10778]") [#41206],  [ID 17400]

Document(s): Open document

02.12.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Again rallies against official constitutional referendum's results; according to opposition, several party activists detained ("Armenian Opposition Supporters Demonstrate Again") [#40077],  [ID 2700]

Document(s): Open document

29.11.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Official results say 94% supported constitutional amendments at 65% turnout; opposition calls on president to resign, OSCE doubts turnout-numbers ("Armenia's Opposition Calls On President To Resign") [#39886],  [ID 2701]

Document(s): Open document

28.11.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Rally in Yerevan accusing government of rigging constitutional referendum; according to CoE, observers witnessed serious abuses ("Armenian Protesters Claim Referendum Rigged") [#39812],  [ID 2702]

Document(s): Open document

28.11.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Council of Europe reports cases of fraud, secrecy and stuffing of ballot boxes during constitutional referendum; government officials defended results ("Council Of Europe Reports 'Abuses' In Armenian Poll") [#39834],  [ID 2703]

Document(s): Open document

28.11.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Opposition contests official turnout figures in constitutional referendum ("Armenia: Opposition Contests Official Turnout Figures In Referendum") [#39821],  [ID 2704]

Document(s): Open document

28.11.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

According to authorities, preliminary results of consitutional referendum show 93% approved; voter turnout reported at 65% ("Broad Support Seen For Armenian Constitutional Changes") [#39810],  [ID 2705]

Document(s): Open document

27.11.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

After calling for boycott, opposition claims fraud in constitutional referendum ("Armenia: Opposition Claims Fraud In Controversial Referendum") [#39759],  [ID 2706]

Document(s): Open document

23.11.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Opposition calls for boycott of constitutional referendum; endorsed by US, EU, CoE though ("Armenia: Opposition Calls For Boycott Of Constitutional Referendum") [#39626],  [ID 2707]

Document(s): Open document

21.11.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Referendum on constitutional amendments favoured by US, EU and CoE on 27 November; opposition urges voters to boycott, arguing that authorities lack legitimacy to reform constitution ("Armenia: Both Sides Gear Up For Constitutional Referendum") [#39501],  [ID 2708]

Document(s): Open document

10.11.2005 - Source: Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Needs assessment mission report for constitutional referendum on 27 November 2005 ("Constitutional referendum 27 November 2005 - OSCE/ODIHR Needs Assessment Mission Report"") [#39059],  [ID 2709]

Document(s): Open document

10.11.2005 - Source: Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Needs assessment mission report for constitutional referendum on 27 November 2005 ("Constitutional referendum 27 November 2005 - OSCE/ODIHR Needs Assessment Mission Report"") [#39059],  [ID 17398]

Document(s): Open document

03.11.2005 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Report focused on proposed constitution ("Constitutional Wrangling in Armenia") [#38595],  [ID 2710]

Document(s): Open document

21.06.2005 - Source: Council of Europe - Parliamentary Assembly

Report on constitutional reform process (chronology of events, main problems in revision and political background) ("Constitutional reform process in Armenia [Doc. 10601]") [#33726],  [ID 2711]

Document(s): Open document