US embassy cable - 05YEREVAN2125

UNCLAS YEREVAN 002125 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, AM 
SUBJECT:  AMMENDMENTS TO ARMENIAN CONSTITUTION CAME 
INTO FORCE DECEMBER 8 
 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (SBU) Armenia formally adopted its amended 
constitution December 8, following the closure of the 
seven-day window for filing legal challenges to the 
November 27 constitutional referendum.  According to 
Armenian law, only the President or one-third of the 
Parliament have standing to challenge the results of a 
national referendum.  End Summary. 
 
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NO FORMAL LEGAL COMPLAINTS FILED 
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2. (SBU) Amendments to the Armenian Constitution 
(endorsed by the Council of Europe's Venice Commission) 
adopted via national referendum on November 27, entered 
into force December 8.  The new text of the 
Constitution was published in the special issue of the 
"Official Bulletin" on December 7, following the seven- 
day time limit for considering all possible legal 
complaints questioning the legitimacy of the 
referendum. 
 
3. (SBU) According to the spokeswoman for the Central 
Electoral Committee (CEC) of Armenia, Tsovinar 
Khachatrian, the Central Electoral Commission of 
Armenia received no complaints or formal appeals 
regarding the conduct of the referendum from citizen 
groups, political parties or individuals.  Khachatrian 
told us that all appeals regarding the referendum 
outcome should have been submitted within seven days 
after the referendum, but that the CEC did not receive 
any. 
 
4. (SBU) In an interview with Mediamax, Deputy Chairman 
of the Constitutional Court of Armenia, Volodia 
Hovanesian, noted that during the seven days following 
the referendum, the Constitutional Court also did not 
receive any appeals contesting the outcome of the 
referendum.  Hovanesian stated that "the amendments to 
the Constitution have already come into force and their 
content is not subject to appeal." 
 
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COMMENT: UNREALISTICALLY BURDENSOME APPEALS PROCESS 
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5. (SBU) Despite widespread opposition and NGO protests 
about what they alleged to be a rigged vote November 
27, no one filed a formal, legal complaint to either 
the Central Election Commission or the Constitutional 
Court contesting the referendum's outcome.  A legal 
appeal contesting the vote's outcome could have been 
made either by the president or by one third of the 
National Assembly deputies.  (Note:  The governing 
coalition controls more than two-thirds of the seats in 
the National Assembly.  End Note.)  In the end, there 
was no one with legal standing who also had an interest 
in contesting the referendum results, thus the results 
stand. 
EVANS