Decisions related to changes in constitutional status or to an alteration of borders are subject to a vote of the citizens of Armenia exercised in a referendum.
[2] The constitution was amended again in a national referendum on December 6, 2015 that changed the political structure from a semi-presidential system to a parliamentary republic.
According to the November 2005 Constitution, the president of the Republic appoints the prime minister based on the distribution of the seats in the National Assembly and consultations with the parliamentary factions.
Immediately after independence, the 1978 constitution, a replica of the Soviet Union's 1977 document,[clarification needed] remained in effect except in cases where specific legislation superseded it.
Then, after nearly a year's work, a bloc of six opposition parties led by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) presented an alternative constitution in January 1994 that would expand the parliament's power, limit that of the president, expand the authority of local government, allow Armenians everywhere to participate in governing the republic, and seek international recognition of the 1915 Genocide.
The Preamble sets out the general principles and aims of the constitution (the Armenian people, based on the fundamental principles and national goals of Armenian statehood enshrined in the Declaration of Independence of Armenia, carrying out the sacred aspiration of the restoration of its sovereign state, dedicated to the strengthening of the homeland, prosperity, civic solidarity, affirming adherence to universal values, adopts the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia).
[citation needed] The Preamble is also important from a legal point of view in that it refers to the Declaration on Independence of Armenia, adopted on August 23, 1990, thus raising the principles and goals of the Armenian statehood to a constitutional-legal level.
This 1990 declaration cites the 1989 unification act by the legislative bodies of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.
The elections of the president of the Republic, the National Assembly, the local self-government bodies, as well as the referendum, shall be held by universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot.
States that the Constitution shall be adopted and amended only by referendum, which shall be set by the President of the Republic upon the recommendation or consent of the National Assembly.
[7] Under Armenia's parliamentary system, the President is simply a figurehead and holds ceremonial duties, with most of the political power vested in the Parliament and prime minister.