YEREVAN. - By establishing a parliamentary system of governance, we have neutralized the threat of political monopoly, President Serzh Sargsyan stated in his address at Thursday’s inaugural session of the new National Assembly.

In his words, when they initiated constitutional changes back in 2013, they conditioned them by the necessity to apply the principle of supremacy of the law, improvement of constitutional provisions which guarantee basic human rights and freedoms, factual balance of power, and improved public administration.

“When in the past we spoke of the existing problems and conditioned them in part by the peculiarities of the system of governance, inconsistent utilization of the division and balance of power, structurally inefficient solutions, the low level of political and constitutional culture, immaturity of partisan system, many were skeptic about it. The period of time after the constitutional changes of 2015 and especially the April 2, 2017 elections to the National Assembly and the post-election situation proved that we were right in choosing the path for solving problems.

By switching to a parliamentary system of governance, we have considerably reduced or even eliminated political resistance or the threat to turn a crisis into public confrontation. Establishing a parliamentary system of governance, we have neutralized the threat of political monopoly. I also believe that constitutional changes eliminated inconsistencies among the functions and authorities of different governing bodies and officials.

The reforms have created a sufficient constitutional base so that disputes between the President of Armenia and National Assembly, President and Government, National Assembly and Government as well as disagreements between the different state power bodies with regard to the constitutional authorities are solved not on the political but legal field.

Constitutional changes overcame the functional duplication of the executive branch. The Government will be endowed with the executive authority, whiled the President of the Republic will have predominantly balancing and restraining authority as it is typical for the Head of state.

The constitutional changes of 2015, while highlighting the issues of further development of the lawmaking and regulatory functions of the National Assembly, also strengthened the role of the NA bodies in the areas of legislative activities, increased the share of the parliament in the formation of state power and governing bodies, expanded its supervisory power, enforced the constitutional guarantees for the rights of parliamentary minority,” Sargsyan said.