Tag Archives: constitution

Georgian committee approves constitutional changes

APRIL 23 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A committee, dominated by the ruling Georgian Dream coalition, convened to study ideas for a new constitution in Georgia voted overwhelmingly in favour of proposals to strip the presidency of power. Opponents of the proposed new constitution, lead by President Girorgi Margvelashvili have accused the Georgian Dream government coalition of trying to undermine its rivals by tinkering with the constitution and pushing the country towards a one-party rule. The Georgian Dream has a large enough majority in parliament to push through any constitutional changes. A date for a vote in parliament on the proposed changes has not yet been set.

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(News report from Issue No. 326, published on April 28 2017)

Armenia’s new constitution

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APRIL 6 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — >> Armenia has just held a parliamentary election that many observers have said is its most important since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Why?

>> The parliamentary election on April 2 was the first since a referendum in December 2015 that changed the constitution and shifted the balance of power away from the President to the PM and parliament. The constitutional changes don’t actually come into effect until President Serzh Sargysan finishes his second and final term in office next year, but the point is that the parliament elected this month will have more power than any other in Armenia’s independence.

>> What are the main changes in the constitution?

>> Whereas neighbouring Georgia shifted some power to parliament in constitutional changes in 2010, Armenia went the whole hog and will move from a presidential system to a parliamentary one. The president is to become a figurehead with no decision-making powers. Direct elections for the president will also be scrapped, parliament will instead pick him or her. Instead, the PM will be the head of the military, will appoint ministers and will set the various policies. Previously, the President had controlled all the major decisions, including appointing the PM.

>> So why were the changes controversial?

>> There the suspicion that Sargsyan and his allies were trying to tie up power for themselves. Sargsyan is obliged to stand down as President at the end of his second term. The opposition said that he would then try to become PM to retain all his power. We’ll have to wait and see on this. It was certainly convenient for Sargsyan that only his allies and appointees sat on the commission to draft the new constitution and also that it doesn’t come into force until the end of his second term.

>> How has Parliament changed with the new constitution?

>> The number of deputies is being cut to 101 directly elected, down from 131, with four seats being given to ethnic minorities. The 101 seats will also be elected wholly through a system of proportional representation. A second round vote has also been introduced to ensure that the winning party has a parliamentary majority. Opposition members have criticised the reforms as undemocratic but the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s constitutional watchdog, gave the changes a qualified thumbs up.

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(News report from Issue No. 323, published on April 6 2017)

Georgian parliament overrides presidential veto

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MARCH 23 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s president overrode a veto by President Giorgi Margvelashvili over a bill that will give the government far reaching surveillance powers. Mr Margvelashvili had objected to the bill because he said it was too expensive to create an agency solely to increase surveillance of people suspected of aiding and abetting terrorism and also of criminals. He also said, and this was possibly his main point, that it was unclear if the new agency would be independent. Relations between Mr Margvelashvili and the Georgian Dream government are strained.

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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Georgian officials mull constitutional changes

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MARCH 18 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian Parliamentary Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze told the Imedi TV channel that Georgia’s Constitutional Court was close to recommending a series of changes that would scrap direct elections for the president and also replace the complicated parliamentary election system with a simplified and transparent proportional representation system. Georgia has been tinkering with its post-Soviet Constitution over the past few years. In 2010, it shifted most power from the president to the PM.

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(News report from Issue No. 322, published on March 27 2017)

Kazakhs do not express concerns about constitutional changes

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ALMATY, MARCH 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Betraying a lack of interest in politics, most people in Almaty who spoke to The Conway Bulletin about changes to the Kazakh constitution made earlier this month just shrugged their shoulders.

Some were concerned that Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev made the changes to hand more power to parliament without consultation but they were in the minority.

Aigerim, a 25-year-old woman working in service sector, said casually: “I haven’t heard of the constitutional changes. I don’t know, I couldn’t care less. They will decide [do what they want] anyway, they will not ask us.”

There was also a degree of scepticism over how much power parliament will really be given.

Malik, 60, said: “Parliament will not be given decision-making power, it is just formality. Nazarbayev is and will be the only person in power.”

These views were echoed by most people that the Bulletin spoke to, although the issue of land ownership has dominated some discussion groups.

Land is a touchy subject in Kazakhstan. Last year, people protested in several cities across the country against a change to the law that was going to give foreigners improved rights to land ownership in Kazakhstan. The constitutional changes brought in by Mr Nazarbayev hasn’t touched the issue of land rights but that didn’t stop it dominating conversations.

Rabiga, a pensioner, said: “I do care, I have my family living here. I have heard of (the constitutional changes) but don’t know the details. But I heard there was one article on land that is changed from citizen to anybody. I have read about it a lot.”

Most analysts said that Mr Nazarbayev has tinkered with the constitution to try to split power between a number of people in order to avoid any one person dominating Kazakh politics when he leaves. The 76-year-old hasn’t yet unveiled plans for his accession.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Venice commission praises Kazakh constitution amendments

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MARCH 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s constitutional analysis unit, said that amendments made to the Kazakh constitution by President Nursultan Nazarbayev earlier this year were “a clear step forward”. Without consulting ordinary Kazakhs, Mr Nazarbayev transferred some powers, mainly looking after domestic briefs such as education and pension reforms, to parliament, keeping state affairs such as security and foreign policy under the president’s remit. “There can be no doubt that the reform goes in the right direction and constitutes a clear step forward. Other steps should follow in the future,” the Venice Commission said in a statement.

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(News report from Issue No. 321, published on March 20 2017)

Azerbaijan considers smoking ban

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MARCH 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s parliament debated a bill that could ban smoking in public places, media reported, the first step towards imposing tougher rules over smoking and cigarette advertising in a country notoriously fond of the habit. Azerbaijan’s neighbours in the South Caucasus, and also in Central Asia, have already imposed some restrictions on smoking. Smoking is currently banned in Azerbaijan in sports facilities, educational area and healthcare buildings.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Kazakh parliament approves constitutional changes

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ALMATY, MARCH 5 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s parliament officially approved changes to the country’s constitution, changes President Nursultan Nazarbayev lauded as yet another step forward for Kazakh democracy but his opponents dismissed as tinkering necessary to impose a succession plan.

Unusually for Central Asia and the South Caucasus, Mr Nazarbayev didn’t opt to have his constitutional amendments approved by the populous through a referendum, as he has previously done. Instead, he presented them as minor changes to government that didn’t need to bother ordinary people.

“The government will strengthen its independence and responsibility for their decisions. Parliament will have new powers to control the activities of the Government and the executive bodies,” Mr Nazarbayev said in a statement on his website released after signing the changes into law. “The political system will gain a greater degree of democracy and stability. However, the basic foundation of the Republic of Kazakhstan is a presidential form of government.”

Analysts though have said that the changes are actually fairly substantial. The cabinet will report to parliament as well as to the president, it will also have greater influence over the hiring and firing of ministers and its executive will have more independence.

The division of responsibilities will also allow Mr Nazarbayev to concentrate on issues he is more comfortable with, such as foreign policy and security, rather than more troublesome issues such as education, health and social welfare.

Some observers said that behind these moves lay a strategy aimed at diluting power away from the presidency so that power can effectively be split with succession, rather than concentrating power in the hands of one person.

Mr Nazarbayev is 76-years-old and has ruled Kazakhstan since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 but has yet to lay out a coherent succession strategy.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Uzbek ministers argue over reforms

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MARCH 7 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbek president Shavkat Mirziyoyev is facing internal opposition from powerful members of the elite to liberal reforms he wants to push through, various sources told Reuters. They said that his plans to move the Uzbek som to a free float, cancel visas for tourists from some countries and restart a passenger flight with Dushanbe have all been delayed because of resistance from the powerful security services.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Georgian Dream secures massive election victory

TBILISI, OCT. 30 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Georgian Dream coalition won 48 of the 50 run-offs in majoritarian seats, securing a large enough majority to change Georgia’s constitution without needing support from other parties.

The run-off seats won by Georgian Dream were added to the 67 seats it won in the first round of voting on Oct. 8, giving it control of 115 seats in the 150-seat parliament, smashing their arch rivals the United National Movement party (UNM).

Georgia’s politics are notoriously fractious and while supporters of the Georgian Dream, led by billionaire and former PM Bidzina Ivanishvili, celebrated, election observers were wary of the powers they now wield over the constitution. Ignacio Sanchez Amor, head of the short- term OSCE observer mission, said a constitutional majority brought responsibility.

“The balance of power must be properly observed and rights of minorities must be at the centre of any discussion if there are constitutional changes,” media quoted him as saying.

Alongside the Georgian Dream, the Industrialists party and an independent candidate both won a seat. The UNM, the party of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, finished with the 27 seats, a disappointing result for the party which had talked up the chances of making a comeback and winning back control of parliament. It lost a 2012 parliamentary election to the Georgian Dream.

Dustin Gilbreath, a policy analyst at the Caucasus Research Resource Centre, said the UNM can still recover as a political power but it would be difficult.

“They can continue as a major opposition party, but they need to rebrand. I think they have the potential to stay in Georgian politics in the long run, but they first need to make things works internally”, he said.

Away from the celebrating Georgian Dream supporters, people in Tbilisi, people were worried about the lack of checks on its powers.

Levani, who runs a small grocery store in the city centre, said: “It’s just a disaster. The political stagnation that we witnessed in the last four years is bound to worsen now that no political actor has the power to compel them to act.”

Another Tbilisi resident, Ketino, agreed even though she had voted for the Georgian Dream. “I voted for them to avoid the return of UNM. Nothing good can come out from having too much power,” she said.

Georgian Dream, considered traditional and close to the Orthodox Church, has already said that it wants to change the constitution to enshrine marriage as a union only between a man and a woman.

The Orthodox Church is staunchly against gay rights and many of the Georgian Dreams’ supporters have been pushing to change Georgia’s constitution to reflect this attitude.

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(News report from Issue No. 303, published on Nov. 4 2016)