Parliamentary factions cannot reach a consensus on holding early  elections to National Assembly

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.