ArmInfo. The sole decision to hold early elections in December without the consent of other political forces is an ultimatum. We are talking about the future of our country, and holding elections in such a short time is simply dangerous. Vahram Baghdasaryan, head of the Republican Party faction, announced this at the briefings in the National Assembly on October 8.
He noted that on October 1, he met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and they agreed that early parliamentary elections should be held in May or June 2019. "It would give us all, including the government, time to prepare for early elections. We agreed that meetings and discussions should be held with other parliamentary factions," said Baghdasaryan.
The deputy noted that on the same day a sitting of the commission on state and legal issues was held, at which the draft law on amending the law on the NA Rules of Procedure was discussed. Deputies from the Yelk faction also participated in the meeting of this commission; however, they did not inform Pashinyan about this draft law. "The next day, Nikol Pashinyan called me and asked me not to put the draft law to a vote. Then he met with me and said that he had made the sole decision that the elections would be held in December. Since this issue was settled, we called an extraordinary the parliamentary meeting and voted "for" this bill. After all, according to our agreement, we should not have put this bill to a vote until our meeting with Pashinyan takes place, "the head of the Republican faction said. Baghdasaryan stressed that the deputies should be protected from attacks and attempts to influence them. "We believe that deputies should be protected from attempts to put pressure on them. The sole purpose of this draft law was precisely this," the MP said.
The deputy also stressed that RPA representatives believe that all political forces should be given time so that they can properly prepare for the upcoming elections. "We do not intend to hold talks on holding elections in December, we consider it unjustified. Negotiations mean interaction, and the position of the Yelk faction reminds of an ultimatum," said Baghdasaryan.
The head of the RPA faction also noted that there was no discussion in the faction about nominating his candidate for the post of prime minister after Pashinyan's resignation. "If the representatives of the Yelk faction change the context and from the phrase" we are talking about elections only in December "change to" we are ready to negotiate, then we are ready to cooperate, "said Baghdasaryan. As for Serzh Sargsyan's position regarding the elections in December Baghdasaryan said: "Everyone in our faction has its own position, but we did not discuss the issue of elections in December," the MP said.
In turn, the head of the Yelk faction Lena Nazaryan stated that negotiations with parliamentary forces should continue, and all doors for the continuation of these negotiations are open. "It's never too late to continue negotiations, however, regarding the timing of early elections, we do not yet know whether we will discuss this issue. But we are ready to negotiate, "said the MP.
She noted that representatives of the Yelk faction hope that their colleagues from other factions will not nominate their candidates for the post of prime minister after Pashinyan's resignation. "We urge representatives of 3 parliamentary factions not to nominate their candidates for the post of Prime Minister after Nikolai Pashiyan's resignation, but to accept the position of the public. Otherwise, the situation that occurred on October 2 may repeat. vote "against", because each MP's position is important here, "Nazaryan called.
"After they secretly amended the draft law, they closed the opportunity to negotiate regarding the deadlines. Moreover, these forces do not explain why the elections should not take place in December," the deputy stressed. Regarding the position of the Yelk bloc that it is necessary to hold elections in December, she said: "The fact is that the current parliament does not express the people's opinion, and periodically tries to play backstage games against the government. In the National Assembly "shadow power," which brings "shadow" bills to parliament, needs to be brought to an end, "Nazaryan stressed.
The deputy also noted that the time until December is more than enough to make changes to the Electoral Code, but otherwise, early elections can be held without changes to the EC.
In turn, MP from the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun" faction Spartak Seyranyan said that the party is in favor of holding early parliamentary elections. "After all, we voted" for "the program of the government and remain true to our position," the deputy noted.
He stated that when ARFD voted for the government's program, it was obvious that both October, and November, and December fit into the framework of the early elections. "To say that we want to hold elections precisely in May is a manipulation," the deputy stressed.
According to Seyranyan, their faction has already made it clear exactly after what steps the elections should take place. "Early elections should take place after the reform of the electoral code. Otherwise, we will not be able to come to a solution to the current situation," Seyranyan stressed.
He also noted that in fact, the elections to the Council of Elders of Yerevan, in general, were not so much municipal elections, as they were a public poll, whether they support holding early parliamentary elections in Armenia or not. "If we had been warned in advance that this is actually a" referendum ", we would have prepared for it properly, and it turned out that the" referendum "is being held only to resolve one issue - to dissolve parliament or not," the deputy stressed.
In conclusion, Seyranian noted that ARFD can agree to early elections if all political forces come to a consensus that parliamentary elections should be held in December.
The representatives of the Tsarukyan bloc faction did not appear at the briefing, however, today there will be a meeting between the head of the bloc Gagik Tsarukyan and the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.