YEREVAN. – The Haykakan Zhamanak (HZ) daily reporter at Armenia’s National Assembly asked Justice Minister Hrayr Tovmasyan whether or not a draft for constitutional amendments is being prepared, and the minister replied by saying “no,” the daily reports.  

“And to the query: ‘Could a referendum be held on the day of the presidential elections [next February]?’, he responded: ‘Try picking up the legislation, making calculations, [and] drawing your own conclusion.”

To the remark that the calculations show that the authorities could manage to do that, Tovmasyan countered: ‘No, we virtually aren’t able [to do that] on time.’ The HZ reporter attempted to clarify [whether] that alternative is impossible. ‘Everything is possible,” the minister replied.

This refers to creating, by way of constitutional amendments, a deputy PM position with new, wide range of powers,” Haykakan Zhamanak writes.