Parliamentary factions cannot reach consensus on the draft law on  amending Electoral Code of Armenia

ArmInfo. Those who promised to  come and vote in favor of amending the Electoral Code simply did not  come to a vote, and the RPA torpedoed the adoption of this bill. This  was stated by the secretary of the Yelk faction Gevorg Georgisyan at  a briefing in the National Assembly of Armenia on October 26.

When asked who were the MPs who promised to vote "for" amendments to  the EC, but deceived the expectations of the representatives of the  Yelk faction, the MP said that they were representatives of the  Tsarukyan Bloc faction, ARF Dashnaktsutyun and those MPs who left the  Republican faction.  He noted that the collection of signatures on  holding an extraordinary meeting to re-discuss the issue of amending  the EC was carried out by representatives of the Tsarukyan Bloc  faction. "I hope that on Monday, at an extraordinary meeting of the  parliament, it will be decided to amend and supplement the EC.   However, even if this does not happen, we are confident both in our  abilities and in successfull holding of elections without  falsifications, " Georgisyan said, stressing that the elections to  the Council of Elders of Yerevan were the main evidence of this.

In turn, the secretary of the "Tsarukyan Bloc" faction Vahe Enfiajyan  noted that the representatives of the faction had taken the  initiative to collect signatures and holding an extraordinary  meeting, as in the new political situation the country needs a new  Electoral Code. He noted that this requirement is also being put  forward by extra-parliamentary forces. "I want to note that back in  2017 in the program of our bloc it was noted that we are supporters  of the proportional electoral system. And we hope that on Monday  there will be substantial discussions regarding this draft law and  the decision will be positive," Enfiajyan concluded.

Vahram Baghdasaryan, Head of the Republican Party faction, noted that  the faction was guided not by personal interests, but by the  interests of the country in the matter of amending the Electoral  Code. He noted that supporters of Acting Armenian Prime Minister  Nikol Pashinyan a year later will acknowledge their mistake in this  matter if they have enough courage.

As for the fact that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated  that RPA representatives should be interested in introducing  amendments to the EC, Baghdasaryan said:  "We are eternally grateful  to Nikol Pashinyan for his advice, however, I don't think that we are  pursuing one single goal - to get at any cost to the parliament. We  have repeatedly stated and declare once again that we do not support  the introduction of amendments to the Electoral Code one month before  the elections, "said the head of the RPA faction.  "What will the  parliament be like if we hold elections in a hurry? We need to think  about this, and not about how to get 1 or 2 percent more votes," the  MP said.

Baghdasaryan pointed out the fact that the factions reached an  agreement that early elections will be held in May or June 2019,  after which a statement on this issue will be made. "It would show  the whole world that even after the internal political events in  Armenia, the forces found the strength to make a common statement.   And now you will see what the new parliament will be like and whether  it corresponds to the national policy",concluded the head of the RPA,  noting that the National Assembly is working as usual, and there was  no need to hold early elections until 2022.

Head of the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun" faction Armen Rustamyan stated that  the faction did not participate in collecting signatures for an  extraordinary meeting of the parliament, which will consider the  draft reform of the Electoral Code, since it is not a co-author of  this document and its proposals were not included in the draft.   Rustamyan noted that representatives of the ARFD have repeatedly  noted that the faction had come up with proposals, which, however,  were not adopted and submitted to the EC, therefore, ARFD is against  this draft law.

The head of the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun" also recalled what  points were  proposed by the representatives of the party in the draft law on  amendments to the Electoral Code. "We very clearly stated that we  offer an open proportional system. And we do not understand why this  proposal was not accepted. All the arguments are groundless and  illogical. Proportional elections with open lists are democratic. In  fact, a person chooses not only a list, but candidates as well,"  Rustamyan stressed. The remaining proposals of the ARFD concerned the  maximum threshold for the representation of a political force, which  should not exceed 2/3 of the mandates so that no political force  could make solely important decisions. "Despite this, during the  voting we voted" in favor "of making amendments and changes to the  EC, and in the same way we will vote on Monday," Rustamyan concluded.

To note, on October 22 the Armenian parliament rejected in its first  reading the draft law on introducing amendments and additions to the  Electoral Code of Armenia with 56 votes in favor and 3 against.   Meanwhile, this constitutional law was to be adopted by 3/5 of the  votes of MPs.  On Tuesday, Naira Zohrabyan, a deputy from the  Tsarukyan Bloc faction, began collecting signatures for an  extraordinary meeting to re-discuss the bill on amending the EC. An  extraordinary meeting of the parliament will take place on October 29  at 11:00am.