Government may bypass parliament to constitutional referendum

Turkey may have changed the tone of its official statement on the outcome of Armenia’s parliamentary election following a trilateral meeting between Turkish, Georgian, and Azerbaijani officials.

Armenia’s justice minister has addressed the issue of Artur Osipyan, a former Karabakh resident who was detained last month after a heated exchange with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Justice Minister Srbuhi Galyan said he should be released from custody pending trial.

Galyan also said that although the ruling party did not win the parliamentary supermajority in Sunday’s election, which is required to initiate a constitutional referendum, Civil Contract  could still do so by bypassing the parliament. The only option is through the collection of tens of thousands of citizens’ signatures.