Armenian Parliament protests against Armenian Control Chamber chairman's behavior

The parliamentary opposition protests against the behavior of the Armenian Control Chamber Chairman Ishkhan Zakaryan, who refused to personally present the Control Chamber's report to the Parliament and has sent the deputy chairman to the session.   

At the National Assembly's session, Head of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) Faction Levon Zurabyan pointed out that following the scandalous disclosures by the Control Chamber in 2012-213, Ishkhan Zakaryan no longer attends the Parliament to present the Control Chamber's report despite the numerous demands of the parliamentarians. Zurabyan also asked Seyran Avagyan, Deputy Chairman of the Control Chamber, to leave the Parliament because according to the legislation, the report is to be presented by the Chairman, not the Deputy Chairman. Zurabyan also noted that if Zakaryan cannot personally attend the session today, the parliamentarians "will patiently wait for him". 

Speaker of the Parliament Galust Sahakyan, in turn, said that he does not want to boycott Avagyan's speech. He added that like any other official, Ishkhan Zakaryan has the right to go on vacation. 

For his part, ANC parliamentarian Gagik Jhangiryan read out an extract from the law, which says that it is the chairman of the Control Chamber that shall present the report to the Parliament. "If the Parliament ignores its own law, what do we demand from other structures? Ishkhan Zakaryan should have presented the results of last year's report, as well as the results of numerous cases of abuse. What do we do now?  Who will answer the numerous questions of the Parliament?" said Jhangiryan.     

Speaker Sahakyan said that Avagyan will also be able to give exhaustive answers to all the questions of the MPs. 

To note, since 2012 Zakaryan's work style has changed. Previously he regularly imported the media of the disclosures by the Control Chamber and each of such reports was full of scandalous data. After 2012 he gave up that work style and some experts say that either he does not simply want to cast a shadow on the RPA's election campaign with his loud disclosures or he has been warned not to make such statements.  If Zakaryan kept that effort, the Government of Armenia and all the ministries and officials would be qualified as thieves.