Text of new constitution must be ready before next general election, says minister

Minister of Justice Srbuhi Galyan said Thursday that the development of the text of the new Constitution is underway. 

Galyan told reporters that the concepts of constitutional changes are ready, since there have been many attempts to develop such concepts in the past few years.

She said the text of the draft constitution must be ready before the next elections, i.e. 2026, and then a decision will be made regarding a referendum.

Galyan denied claims that the constitutional changes will be held because of Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev’s demands. She said that such changes have been planned ever since 2018.

The amendments will cover a wide range of issues while unamendable clauses will maintain the same logic. “Only the commission in charge of [developing the draft] is authorized to reveal details and make comments. We plan to organize many discussions with the civil society,” the minister said, adding that everyone will have the opportunity to give an opinion.

The powers of the President will be discussed, but the system of administration of the country will remain the same.

Some adjustments will likely be made in the electoral system.

“Perhaps we will make some adjustments pertaining to the electoral system, based on the proportional system, in order to rule out the presence of many majority elements, which implies changes not only in the constitution but also the parliament rules of procedure,” the minister said, adding that discussions are underway.