Dear Citizens,

A referendum on changes to Armenia’s Constitution will take place on December 6, 2015. If passed, the entire constitution will be changed except for two articles.

Elections in Armenia have always been replete with gross violations that deprive citizens of their right to freedom of expression and a fair ballot. More importantly, citizens are thus prevented from exercising their full rights as defined by the constitution. In order to rig elections in their favor, the regime has, particularly in the past few years, actively utilized the names of citizens no longer residing in Armenia to skew ballot results.

Given the important role of a constitution in ensuring the continued existence and legal functioning of a state, coupled with the policy of falsifying the popular vote of the people, it is vital that the legality of this referendum by ensured with proper oversight in which citizens play a direct and major role.

The “Citizen Observer” initiative, in cooperation with those partners sharing its concerns, plans to carry out monitoring of the referendum throughout Armenia to prevent violations and to ensure that the process complies with Armenian law and international norms.

Thus, we call on all citizens of Armenia who share our concerns to join us in our monitoring mission, in the role of either a certified monitor or member of the press, so that together we can prevent any attempts to hinder the referendum process and falsify its results.

Prospective monitors will attend a training session, complete with legal advice, prior to the referendum. All observed violations will be recorded and sent to the proper authorities.

All those who are interested in becoming a citizen-observer, are welcome to send an e-mail to [email protected] or call at 094 553069 before October 27.

Update: deadline for submitting the applications is extended until November 1.

The Citizen Observer” initiative is a coalition, formed in May 2013, of the following NGOs – Transparency International Anticorruption Center, Europe in Law Association, Journalists’ Club “Asparez,” and Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor Office.