Artsakh Proposes Transition to Semi-Presidential Governance Model

On April 26, a meeting of the Permanent Committee on Legal Issues of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh was held, attended by National Assembly President Arthur Tovmasyan. The first agenda item was the discussion of the draft Constitution of the Republic of Artsakh presented by the President of Artsakh through legislative initiative, introduced by the Deputy Chief of the Presidential Administration, J. Mirzoyan.

According to the report, the draft suggests transforming the governance system from a presidential model to a semi-presidential model, taking into account the imperative of ensuring security in Artsakh and the need for flexibility in state management during military or emergency situations.

The draft also proposes to regulate the relations related to the indirect elections of the President of the Republic in exceptional cases. It is also suggested that during a state of war, the right to elect the President of the Republic be assigned to the National Assembly, with a defined procedure for exercising these powers.

The project was approved by the committee with four votes in favor and will be presented for the first reading at the next session of the National Assembly.