Opposition lawmakers pledged to ask the Constitutional Court to declare unconstitutional a new law that will effectively disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Armenians living abroad, particularly in Russia.
The law was drafted by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's Civil Contract party and hastily pushed through Armenia's outgoing parliament during its final session concluded on Friday. It stipulates that Armenian citizens will lose voting rights if they have stayed in their home country for less than half of the two years preceding elections or a referendum.
The opposition minority in the parliament says the law runs counter to the Armenian constitution which guarantees 'universal, equal, free and direct suffrage' for all citizens without setting any residency requirements. Under Article 48 of the constitution, Armenians aged 18 and older 'have the right to elect and the right to participate in the referendum.'
Civil Contract deputies denied any violation of these provisions during a short parliament debate that took place on Thursday.
Opposition parliamentarians claim that the real purpose of the law is to make it easier for Pashinian to enact a new Armenian constitution demanded by Azerbaijan through a referendum.
They argue that the number of voters living abroad should decrease considerably after the disenfranchisement of expats.
