ArmInfo. The bill, which tightens the punishment for electoral bribes, was passed by the Armenian parliament in the first reading.
Despite this, the faction of the Republican Party of Armenia and "Tsarukyan" bloc criticized the document. Representatives of the factions noted that the government should make adjustments in the bill. The MPs also said that the bill contains a lot of incomprehensible phrases and some of its provisions contradict the very idea of criminal law.
In particular, during the extraordinary meeting of the National Assembly, the former Prosecutor General of Armenia, head of the parliamentary commission on state and legal affairs Gevorg Kostanyan stated that from the legal point of view, this bill contains very serious threats. "It is unacceptable to imprison a person for 3 years only for a promise to vote for a faction or party," Kostanyan said.
The MP emphasized that the profile commission gave a positive conclusion to the bill with a condition that the government corrects it. "However, the government did not even think of making amendments to the project," Kostanyan said.
Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov also said that it is impermissible basing on the momentary aspirations to present a raw and unfinished document that can subsequently create more problems than solve them. At the same time he stressed that the very idea of the bill is acceptable to him. Sharmazanov also addressed to the statement made by the MP from the "Yelk" bloc Alen Simonyan that there are people in the parliament who had given election bribes: "In fact, you have sounded a message about the crime, please also specify the names of those MPs," Sharmazanov called.
MP from "Tsarukyan Bloc" faction Gevorg Petrosyan also spoke on this issue. The latter, like Kostanyan, expressed his concern that according to this bill, a person who only gave a promise to vote "in this way, and not otherwise, for any political force" may be prosecuted. "The imprisonment for up to 3 years for a promise is contrary to the very idea of criminal law. The law also does not allow people to be held criminally liable for their opinions or intentions. In this case we see that in fact, the actions of giving bribes and promising to vote for this or that candidate are considered similar, "- said the MP.
To note, today, on September 6, during an extraordinary meeting, the National Assembly discussed amendments to the Criminal Code, envisaging increased criminal responsibility for giving bribes during elections. In accordance with this bill, in case of some violations, it is planned to tighten up criminal liability, up to imprisonment for up to 3 years or the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of 05 thousand minimum wages. Thus, criminal liability is envisaged if a citizen votes in the presence of a third party, or for charity during the period of the pre-election campaign.