Draft Constitution Backed by More than 60 Percent of Voters, Authorities Claim

According to preliminary results released by Armenia's Central Electoral Commission (CEC) on Monday, 63.35 percent of participants of Sunday's referendum on draft constitutional amendment – 825 622 people – voted for President Serzh Sargsyan-initiated changes that seek, among other changes, to transition Armenia from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary system of governance. Note, as stated in Article 35 of the Armenian Law on Referendum, the draft is considered as adopted if it receives positive votes from more than half of the voters, but not less than from one third of the citizens included in the lists.

CEC data revealed that 421 593 citizens – 32.35 percent of referendum participants – voted against the draft; while 53 323 votes were considered invalid.

Note, throughout the entire course of the referendum local observation missions reported a number of different infringements during the election process, including but not limited to hindrance to the observers' and journalists' work, violations of the secrecy of voting, bribery, numerous instances of multiple voting, as well as acts of violence and intimidation against reporters and observers.