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Armenians support constitutional reform in referendum

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YEREVAN, November 28 (RIA Novosti, Hamlet Matevosyan) - A vast majority of Armenians voted in favor of constitutional reform in Sunday's national referendum, the Central Electoral Commission reported Monday.

Commission Deputy Chair Abraam Bakhchagulyan told reporters that, with 99.9% of the ballots counted by noon local time (8 a.m. GMT), votes in favor of the reform totaled 1,410,550 (93.3%). Those against came in at 81,869 (5.4%) and 20,326 ballots were rejected as invalid.

At least one-third (767,000) of the country's 2.3 million registered voters had to take part in the referendum for it to be considered valid.

The constitutional reform package, drafted by Armenia's three-party ruling coalition, will give parliament a greater say in running the country while reducing presidential powers and make the judicial branch more independent of the executive branch. It will also introduce dual citizenship for Armenians living abroad, with the Diaspora twice as strong as the country's population.

Opposition forces boycotted the plebiscite and declined to participate in drafting the amendments.

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