The result was announced after 93 percent of the ballots were counted from Sunday’s referendum. The authorities agreed to be scheduled the December 6 referendum after President Serzh Sarkisian proposed the constitutional amendments, arguing the changes would “make cooperation between different branches of government more effective” & facilitate economic development & the safety of human rights. The president will be elected by the members of the parliament rather than through a direct general vote. Sargsyan has denied the claim, saying he has no intention of shifting into the prime minister’s seat after his second term in office ends in 2018.
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Some 5,000 protesters already rallied against the reforms in Yerevan on Tuesday, demanding Sarkisian’s resignation, and opposition parties vowed to stage fresh protests on Sunday evening.
Armenians voted for a controversial constitutional amendment.
“What happened yesterday during the vote is a treason”, one of the opposition leaders, Raffi Hovannisian, said in the early hours of Monday morning in the city’s central square.
The government said the changes were needed to shake up the political system and strengthen democracy in the former Soviet state.
At a polling station in Yerevan, 72-year-old pensioner Sargis Aslanyan told AFP he had voted against the changes “as the whole thing is just about power-thirsty politicians clinging to their chairs”.
Election officials say the turnout for the referendum was 50.51 percent of eligible voters.
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The constitutional reform implies transition from the current half-presidential rule to the parliamentary model.
