Statement by the Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum on the Constitutional Referendum in Armenia of 6 December 2015
12:29, December 25, 2015 | Announcements, Other
21 December 2015
Serzh Sargsyan, President, the Republic of Armenia
Donald Tusk, President, European Council
Jean-Claude Juncker, President, European Commission
Federica Mogherini, Vice-President of the European Commission, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations
Martin Schulz, President, European Parliament
Heads of State and Government, EU Member States
Gianni Buquicchio, President, Venice Commission
Anne Brasseur, President, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General, Council of Europe
Ilkka Kanerva, President, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
Lamberto Zannier, Secretary General, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Michael Georg Link, Director, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
The Steering Committee of the Civil Society Forum fully supports the statement of the Armenian National Platform of the CSF dated 9 December 2015 on the conduct of the referendum on Amendments to the Armenian Constitution held on 6 December 2015. The catalogue of infringements described in the statement backed by reports from independent observers of the vote depict a depressing picture of a government determined to push through constitutional changes regardless of the views of Armenian voters. The conduct of the referendum and the results published by the government suggests that the whole process failed to legitimise the proposed amendments and thus undermines the right of the authorities to enact laws, govern and enter into international agreements on the basis of the new constitution. This situation can only be rectified if the Central Election Commission nullifies the result of the referendum and the perpetrators of the electoral fraud committed on 6 December 2015 are identified and punished. Only a new, free and fair referendum can determine the true views of the voters on the constitutional amendments.
It is also entirely logical that the European Union institutions which launched negotiations on a Framework Agreement with the Republic of Armenia on 7 December 2015 should include these demands as a condition for continuing the negotiations. It is clear that a government which is ready to cheat its own citizens on such an important issue as the country’s Basic Law cannot be considered to be a credible partner in negotiations which will lead to binding economic and legal decisions.
Members of the Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum