Read the daily news digest for July 4 here.

On July 5 Armenia celebrates Constitution Day

With the restoration of the independence of Armenia, the adoption of a new national constitution became inevitable in 1991. The Constitution was adopted on July 5, 1995, by a nationwide referendum, later amended by referendums (2005, 2015). After the adoption of the Constitution, July 5 became a state holiday - Constitution Day. The Constitution enshrined the nature of the Republic of Armenia as a sovereign, democratic, legal-social state, proclaimed the basic human rights and freedoms of a citizen, defined the rule of the republic based on the principle of separating the legislative, executive, and judicial powers. July 5 is a non-working day in Armenia.

Armenia’s PM and President issue congratulatory message on the Constitution Day

Armenia's President Armen Sarkissian issued a congratulatory message on Constitution Day.

"Dear compatriots,

Every nation builds its life and statehood based on its system of values. Our people have long believed in two basic values: freedom and justice. All our constitutions adopted at different times were anchored on these notions. The immutable articles of the current Constitution directly reflect these values.

It is the duty of every one of us to respect the Constitution, improving and perfecting it, if necessary. Each constitution adopted during the history of our statehood marked a new page in the life of our state. Today we live in difficult times. Parallel to standard solutions, there is a need to take non-standard steps to overcome the current multi-layered and multi-component crisis. We must do our utmost to preserve our statehood, redefine our national identity, define our national ideology, and ensure a dignified future for future generations.

Respect for the Mother Law, thus exercising our rights, and at the same time fulfilling our obligations are an inseparable part of these processes," the message states.

Armenia's caretaker Prime Minister also issued a congratulatory message on Constitution Day․

"Congratulations to all of us on the occasion of July 5, Constitution Day. We welcome July 5, 2021, in completely new conditions, with the amendment of Article 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. According to that article, power in the Republic of Armenia belongs to the people, and the people exercise their power through free elections. The snap parliamentary elections of June 20, 2021, showed that this constitutional provision has been irreversibly established in Armenia after decades of struggle. Every citizen of the Republic of Armenia today sees and knows that he is a decisive force, as provided by the Constitution of our country. The core of our plans is set out in the first article of the introduction of the Constitution of our country. We must unite our best national potential around the materialization of the Republic of Armenia to be a sovereign, democratic, social, legal state; that unification must take place according to the will of the people and not against it," Pashinyan's statement reads.

“Armenia” alliance’s message on the Constitution Day

The “Armenia” alliance issued a message on the Constitution Day.

"Dear compatriots,

Today is one of the most important symbols of our country, the Day of the RA Constitution. 1995 The RA Constitution, adopted by a nationwide referendum on July 5, 2006, essentially reaffirmed our collective aspirations to have an independent, sovereign state, a developing, prosperous homeland, a prosperous, solidary society, and a free, dignified citizen reflected in the Declaration of Independence of Armenia. The Constitution of Armenia enshrined the most essential principles of governing our state - state-building - our commitment to building a legal, social, and democratic state.

Unfortunately, the steps taken by the country's political leadership in the last two or three years and the results recorded show that the facts of violation of the Constitutional order and norms in the country are numerous and systemic. The foundations of the rule of law and the value system of the statehood of the Republic of Armenia based on the power of the people have been disturbed, the sovereignty of the country and its further development is in doubt. The negative consequences of all this affect the country's international reputation.

Once again, the Constitution Day obliges the "Armenia" alliance to intensify our struggle to stop the further disintegration of our statehood and spare no effort to make the norms and rights enshrined in the RA Constitution real tangible for every citizen of the Armenian state,” the message states.

The date of the Constitutional Court's examination of the applications on the election results is known

The Constitutional Court will consider the applications of the four political forces disputing the results of the June 20 snap parliamentary elections on July 9. The Constitutional Court has decided to join the applications of the "Armenia" and "I Have the Honor" alliances, and "Zartonq" and "Armenian Homeland" parties to dispute the election results, as the applications refer to the same issue. All applications will be considered jointly in the same session. Judge Edgar Shatiryan has been appointed rapporteur on the joint case.

It should be reminded that the Constitutional Court registered three applications with the demand to invalidate the results of the elections. 

Armenia confirms 53 new COVID cases and 1 death

As of 11:00 on July 5, a total of 225.606 cases of COVID has been confirmed, of which 217.198 have been cured and 4.527 died.  2.780 patients are currently under treatment. A total of 1.205.632 tests have been performed ever since. Thus, 3.907 tests were performed yesterday, of which 53 new cases of COVID were confirmed. Since yesterday, 67 people have recovered and 1 died.

Armenia’s Secretary of the Security Council concerned over some assessments in the announcement of CSTO Secretary-General

Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan held a phone conversation with the CSRO Secretary-General Stanislav Zas.

Grigoryan expressed concerns over some formulations and assessments in the July 3 statement of the CSTO Secretary-General. He expressed conviction that the existing situation cannot be called just an incident since it’s already a lasting time that the Azerbaijani servicemen do not withdraw from the sovereign territory of Armenia, which is an obvious attempt to occupy some of the Armenian territories.

At the end of the conversation Armen Grigoryan emphasized that for getting acquainted with the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on-site, it would be a good idea to organize the visit of the CSTO Secretariat. Grigoryan once again stressed that it is necessary to show restraint in the negotiations at the level of the CSTO Secretariat in order not to jeopardize the constructive efforts aimed at resolving the situation.

It should be reminded that on July 3 Stanislav Zas had said that it’s needed to understand that the CSTO potential is applied only in case of aggression, attack, and in the case of Armenia, it’s a matter of a border incident.

“Thank God, there are no casualties, no fires. This is a border incident, it must be solved, and we support the peaceful solution of the issue”, Zas had stated.

88.164 COVID-19 vaccinations carried out in Armenia so far

Since the start of vaccinations against COVID-19, 88․164 vaccinations have been carried out in Armenia, 66.491 of which are the first dose and 21.673 - the second one.  Vaccinations with AstraZeneca, Sputnik-V, and Coronavac can be given to people over the age of 18 voluntarily. The process is free of charge. Foreign citizens can also be vaccinated.

Germany lifts COVID travel restrictions for Armenian citizens

The German authorities have decided to permit restriction-free entry for arrivals from more third countries, in line with the most recent recommendation of the EU Council, which on July 1 expanded the list of epidemiologically safe third countries, for the residents of which the EU Member States are advised to gradually permit to enter.

According to a press release issued on Saturday, June 3, by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building, and Community, starting from the following day, on June 4, travelers from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, Brunei, Jordan, Canada, Qatar, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro will be eligible to enter the German territory for tourism purposes. Anyone resident in one of these countries can enter the country without an important reason for travel and regardless of their vaccination status. The World Health Organization reports that Germany has now taken the COVID situation under control.