ArmInfo. Vice Speaker of National Assembly Arpine Hovhannisyan and MP from the faction"Tsarukyan" Gevorg Petrosyan on making amendments to the law on NA Regulations became a stumbling block between parliamentary forces.
The document providing for the legal suspension of the National Assembly in the event of force majeure, was not much liked by the deputies from the ruling Elk bloc, who also saw a political connotation aimed at failing early parliamentary elections. In fact, the bill, if adopted, will create the opportunity not to convene the NA sitting on legal grounds, if there are force majeure situations, meetings of pressure on deputies. That is, the plans of the ruling party to put pressure on parliamentarians to dissolve the National Assembly by means of street actions may fail, since this draft law gives deputies an opportunity in such cases not to hold meetings at all and not to take decisions.
"This bill demonstrates the fears of the RPA and their associates in connection with the upcoming parliamentary elections," head of the Yelk faction Lena Nazaryan said from the rostrum of the parliament, adding that the document has a clear political connotation and aims to realize the narrow interests of certain forces.
Another MP from the Yelk faction Hayk Kondjrian, referring to the forces supporting the bill, said that the people's elects should coordinate their actions in accordance with the will of the people, and not oppose it. "Otherwise, no one can guarantee a repetition of the May events of the current year. But I think that this is an extremely undesirable scenario for everyone," said the parliamentarian.
Edmond Marukyan also representing the faction "Elk" said that the program of the government, approved by the parliament, fixed the provision on early elections, and they will be held. "It's another matter that we want to achieve this through political consensus, but there is no doubt that early elections in Armenia will take place," he said.
Meanwhile, all the other forces in the matter of holding early elections consolidated around the Republican Party against the Yelk bloc, almost the same as they had rallied around the Yelk Bloc and its leader Nikol Pashinyan against the RPA months earlier.
Thus, the MP from ARF "Dashnaktsutyun" Armenuy Kyureghyan, despite the early statements by the ARF on the need for early elections, assured that she now does not see the imperative in holding them, since in this case a one-party power system will prevail in Armenia. "We already have a similar situation in the Council of Elders of Yereavn, where 80% belongs to the My Step block. Let's see how this system will affect the Yerevan government, if it is justified, then we will apply it throughout the republic. But now you cannot transfer all the power into the hands of a political force that did not have enough time to express itself, "said Kureregian.
MP from the Tsarukyan bloc, Louise Simonyan, addressing the deputies from the Yelk bloc, urged them not to speculate on the results of the Prosperous Armenia party in the Yerevan elections: "Just a few months ago, the third president Serzh Sargsyan reproached you with the same 7% of votes received in the elections. He said that the party that received 7% in the elections cannot dictate a political agenda, but you can see for yourself how events are developing. So, before you reproach us with our 7% in the Yerevan elections, remember this. "
In turn, Mikael Melkumyan, vice-speaker of the parliament from the Tsarukyan bloc, stated that the government violates the agreement with the parliamentary forces. "Initially, it was decided to hold elections in June 2019, what happened now, what is the need to rush them, why do they put pressure on us?" The vice-speaker was indignant.
Another vice-speaker of the parliament, Eduard Sharmazanov, said that no one has the right to exert pressure on deputies, every parliamentarian must vote according to his conscience. "The National Assembly was elected legally until 2022, and it should act until that time. I personally do not intend to vote for the dissolution of the parliament under any pressure," he said, stressing that Pashinyan comes up with new initiatives every day. "He said that the elections should be held after the amendments to the EC, which was not done, after the constitutional amendments providing for the self-dissolution of the National Assembly, which also does not exist, in June 2019, and now he says that by the end of this year. We cannot adjust to the mood of the prime minister every time, "he noted.