New draft Constitution of Armenia: President is elected for 7-year term, may serve only one term

New draft Constitution of Armenia: President is elected for 7-year term, may serve only one term –

Panorama – The Expert Commission on Constitutional Reforms under the Armenian President has published the main chapters – chapters 1st – 7th of the draft of the Constitution of Armenia. The document was posted on the official website of Armenian Justice Ministry. 

By the new draft Constitution, a president is elected into office for a term of 7 years instead of the current term of 5 years. The president shall be a permanent resident of the Republic of Armenia for the previous 7 years – instead of the current 10 years. Besides, under the new draft, a president may serve only one term. The new draft law, unlike the Constitution currently in force, bans the president from being member of a political party.

Article 125 of the new draft Constitution establishes the procedure of a presidential election. The president shall be elected by an assembly consisting of an equal number of Armenian parliament deputies and local government bodies’ representatives nominated by municipalities themselves. 

As was reported, public debates of the new draft Constitution will be held until late July. The draft may be amended if any acceptable proposals are submitted. Then the document will presented to the Armenian president and, if approved, to Armenia’s National Assembly.