“Instead of democracy authoritarian model is established in the NKR” (video)
The Constitutional amendments in the NKR are carried out for Bako Sahakyan, political expert Armen Grigoryan told “A1+” and added, “Today Bako Sahakyan is acting even worse; having a tense border, he is getting ready for constitutional amendments and their objective is reproduction of Bako Sahakyan’s authority, yet there hasn’t been any social or political demand for the amendments.” The last chapter of the NKR new Constitution grants a theoretical chance for Bako Sahakyan after the end of his powers in 2017 to govern during transition period until 2020, after which he can pretend to the president’s post until 2030. “In contrast to ensuring democracy and development in the NKR, an authoritarian model is being established, where there will be long term authorities, and one day it may face the risks of the Soviet Union, where the system didn’t operate,” highlighted Armen Grigoryan. The draft also determines strong presidential government; prime minister’s post is removed and instead of it the institution of a state minister is introduced; state minister as well as other ministers are appointed by the president, “Everything is done so that during war and peace the NKR state and constitutional order be maximally adequate to the reality around which the NKR survives,” thinks political expert Sergey Minasyan. The NKR NA elections will be held the same time as the presidential elections. According to Sergey Minasyan, there will a hybrid version, “Having rather strong parliament, it may stimulate democratic processes, on the other hand, semi-presidential, semi-parliamentarian system grants an opportunity not to undermine the role of Supreme Commander-in-Chief- head of the country.” Political expert Armen Grigoryan has the opposite viewpoint, there is no need for changing Constitutional model in the NKR, but democracy is gradually becoming more and more limited, “The Constitution wasn’t an obstacle when the members of the Founding Parliament were beaten, lawmaker Hayk Khanumyan was beaten. When they resort to that model, it is more dangerous- president will become a stronger center.” According to Article 1 of the Constitution, the name Artsakh Republic is added to the official name the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR), which are considered to be equivalents. “The Azerbaijani side always, taking into account the fact that the word Karabakh has some Turkish roots, tries to take advantage of it for propaganda,” noted Sergey Minasyan. The political expert thinks that the change of the name is a direct message directed to the international community and Azerbaijan.
