The Office of the President of the Republic, following the publications and ongoing discussions in the press, presents clarifications on the functions of the President of the Republic of Armenia regarding the decision of the National Assembly on the “Referendum on the Draft Constitutional Amendments” to avoid further speculation, contradictory comments and misunderstanding.

The document presented to the President of the Republic is not a draft law, it is not a law, but the decision AO-001-N of 6 February, 2020, of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on the Referendum on the Draft of the Constitutional Amendments which is published on the official website of the National Assembly.

The constitutional functions of the President of the Republic in relation to the aforementioned decision are procedural and are limited only by signing a decree appointing a referendum within three days in accordance with Article 206 of the Constitution.

In addition, according to Article 12 of the Constitutional Law on Referendum, if the President of the Republic fails to appoint a referendum within the aforementioned three-day period, the referendum shall be considered as scheduled on the Sunday preceding the 65th day following the deadline.

“We should also note that by not appointing or referring to a referendum day, the President of the Republic does not express his attitude and position on the content of the constitutional amendments adopted by the National Assembly and the referendum, as well as on the procedures for making that decision,” the statement reads.