How did it turn out that according to official data 421 thousand people (actually, probably more) have said “no” to the new constitution, and then a few thousands of citizens are gathered in the opposition rallies advocating for “no”. It seems to me that the answer to this question is superficial. People have said “no” to the authorities, above all, to their social conditions, social injustice rather than to the text of the constitutional amendments. But they have not said “yes” to the oppositions, against whom they also have quite reserved attitude. True, the oppositions were convincing them that ‘no’ means a change of government, but the population of Armenia does not need much convincing, the vast majority of our fellow citizens, if reaching the voting booth, then only for one purpose – to express its negative attitude towards the authorities. And thus 20 years continuously.
Whether it is good or bad, it’s hard to be sure. On the one hand, it is good that people being almost confident that their vote will not be counted, however, they fulfill their civic duty. On the other hand, it is desirable that they, along with voting “against” the government, would express their will “in favor” to something. In that case, above all, the actual attendance will be greater.
Suppose, the counting that actually 800 thousand people attended the referendum is true and the ratio of votes is 3/1 in favor of “no”. But it is obvious that we have at least twice as many electorates.
Secondly, those who say “no” should have the answer to the following question in mind, “If ‘no’, then “yes” to what? In that case, there will be many more people in the square during the “post-election processes”. Or, maybe there will be no necessity for such processes.
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Aram ABRAHAMYAN
