Armenian defense minister clarifies issue of constitutional referendum campaign in army

“In Armenia the position of defense minister is political. I am a member of a political team, and I am subordinate to the Armenian president who is the supreme commander of the armed forces,” Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohayan told a press conference today when commenting on media reports that he allegedly conducted in military units a campaign in support of Yes Front ahead of the referendum on the constitutional reform in Armenia.  

As regards the participation of the Armenian army personnel in the constitutional referendum, Ohanyan said constitutional provisions have never been violated in the army.

“Each Armenian serviceman understands that political neutrality is observed in the army, but as citizens all servicemen shall express their position on the constitutional reform – in accordance with the law and the secret ballot principle,” the minister noted.

As was reported,  Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on August 21 sent the draft constitutional amendments to the country’s parliament. . Following the debates, the Armenian parliament adopted on October 5 the draft decision of the National Assembly on its consent for the document to be put to a referendum. The Armenian president set December 6, 2015 as the date for the constitutional referendum. The campaign for the constitutional reform in Armenia began on October 10 and will end at midnight of December 4. Supporters of the constitutional reform established ‘Yes’ Front made up mostly of members of RPA, while opponents of the constitutional reform in Armenia set up  ‘No’ Front that currently includes two camps. The first is ‘New Armenia’ public salvation front established by opposition Heritage Party and opposition civic initiative Founding Parliament. The second camp is ‘No’ movement formed by opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) and People’s Party of Armenia, which already created a joint office for campaigning ahead of the referendum.