YEREVAN, November 27 (RIA Novosti, Gamlet Matevosyan) - As many as 44.61% of Armenian voters had turned up at a referendum on constitutional reform by 5 p.m. local time (1 p.m. GMT), the republic's central electoral commission said Sunday.

Armenians are casting their votes on a package of constitutional amendments intended to increase the parliament's role in the country's governance and make the judiciary more independent from the executive branch.

The amendments also include a proposal to introduce double citizenship, which is especially important for Armenia with its large ethnic diaspora worldwide.

The amendments have to be supported by at least one third of Armenia's voters.