Abkhazia is starting a constitutional reform and abolishing the prime minister position
Abkhazia abolishes the prime minister
On June 9, the Parliament in Abkhazia began discussing constitutional amendments that would abolish the Cabinet of Ministers and, consequently, the position of prime minister.
Ministers will report directly to the president.
The proposed constitutional law also includes the following changes:
● Ministers will be appointed with the parliament’s approval, a process not required by the current constitution.
● The president will have the authority to dissolve the parliament and call new elections if more than one-third of ministerial positions remain vacant after parliament rejects ministerial candidates three times.
● The president will have the power to approve the structure of the central executive bodies.
● The role of the vice president will be defined by a separate law. Under the current constitution, the vice president’s functions are vague, primarily involving specific tasks assigned by the president.
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The proposed amendments are based on recommendations developed by the Presidential Commission on Constitutional Reform in late 2022.
Currently, the amendment package has been supplemented with a proposal from the president’s administration regarding the possibility of dissolving parliament. Experts and deputies consider this provision the most controversial.
Members of the Constitutional Commission previously rejected the possibility of dissolving parliament to maintain the balance between the executive and legislative branches.
According to the Speaker of the People’s Assembly, Lasha Ashuba, deputies have raised questions about the provisions concerning the dissolution of parliament and their advisability.
MPs do not rule out the possibility of these norms being abused by the president.
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