Amendments to election code aimed at reproducing incumbent regime in  Armenia - Avetik Chalabyan 

ArmInfo.Coordinator of the "Hayakve" initiative Avetik Chalabyan sharply criticized the  amendments to the Electoral Code of the country proposed by the ruling "Civil Contract" faction, which were adopted in the first reading by the Armenian parliament on October 24.

In a statement on Facebook, Chalabyan stated that this rather  voluminous document, which is already full of contradictions, was  supplemented with a new problematic article (7.1), detailing the  restrictions of the electoral process in the event of martial law or  a state of emergency.

"According to Part 3 of the document, if martial law or a state of  emergency is declared after the expiration of the period provided for  the nomination of candidates for elections to the National Assembly  or local government bodies, until the preliminary results of the vote  are summarized, then from the moment of the declaration of martial  law or a state of emergency, the electoral process is considered  suspended by law," the coordinator of the initiative explained.

As Chalabyan noted, the resumption of the electoral process  necessarily implies the organization and holding of a new vote. "In  fact, if the current pro-Turkish government suffers a defeat in the  elections, it can immediately signal its colleagues in Baku and  Ankara, and they, under the pretext of preventing the "revanchists"  from coming to power, will begin military action against Armenia,"  the public and political figure added.

Further, according to the coordinator of the "Ayakve" initiative, the  authorities acting under these conditions will declare martial law,  canceling the actual election results, and will hold a new vote under  the forceful pressure of Baku, convincing the people that in order to  avoid war, they must elect this government.

"If someone thinks that this is from the genre of fantasy, I would  advise them to carefully read the last sentence of the amendment and  try to answer the question: why hold a new vote after the suspension  of the electoral process, if the results of the already held vote can  be approved after the end of martial law," Chalabyan asked.

At the same time, the public and political figure noted that the  parliamentary opposition should, as a matter of priority, appeal the  said amendments to the Constitutional Court, while expressing doubts  about their effectiveness in this context.

"Considering that the majority of the Civil Contract (CC) faction  will stop at nothing to prolong their power, their invitation of  enemy troops to the country is quite probable. If this is not the  case, then let them remove this proposal during the discussions of  the draft amendments during the second reading in parliament, they  are quite capable of doing this," Chalabyan summed up.

The Armenian parliament approved in the first reading amendments to  the Electoral Code proposed by the Ministry of Justice, which do not  allow new elections to be held in the event of a state of emergency  or martial law. 65 deputies voted for this decision, 28 voted  against. Opposition forces expressed concerns that these changes  could provide the ruling party with an opportunity to prolong its  stay in power. In particular, given the expected election results,  the authorities may initiate an emergency situation in order to  interrupt the voting and organize new elections. Experts are inclined  to believe that in this way the current authorities of the country  are moving towards a transition to an authoritarian regime of  governance in Armenia.