Tuesday,
Armenian Parliament Schedules Another Debate On Election Bill
• Tatevik Lazarian
Armenia - Deputies from the Republican Party of Armenia at a parliament session
in Yerevan, .
The Armenian parliament will again debate next week a package of major
amendments to the Electoral Code drafted by the government.
Under Armenia’s constitution, the amendments have to be backed by at least 63
members of the 105-member National Assembly. Only 56 parliament deputies voted
for them on Monday.
The government bill, if passed, could somewhat influence the outcome of snap
parliamentary elections expected in December. It would, among other things,
change the existing legal mechanism for distributing parliament seats which
many believe favored Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK) in the last
parliamentary elections held in April 2017.
The bill was not passed primarily because of opposition from the HHK. The party
led by former President Serzh Sarkisian said that lawmakers could not have
properly examined it because it was sent to them by the government just a few
days ago.
Pashinian and representatives of other parliamentary forces denounced the HHK’s
stance as “sabotage.” The parliament’s HHK-affiliated speaker Ara Babloyan
rejected the criticism, saying that his party acted in good faith.
Lawmakers supporting the proposed changes collected on Tuesday enough
signatures to force another debate and vote. “An extraordinary sitting of the
parliament with the same agenda -- amendments to the Electoral Code -- will be
convened on Monday,” one of them, Naira Zohrabian, told reporters.
The draft amendments are backed by Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party,
the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) and the Yelk alliance.
The three forces control 47 parliament seats between them, meaning that they
need the backing of independent deputies as well as dissident members of the
HHK’s parliamentary faction.
In the 2017 elections, Armenians voted for not only parties and blocs as a
whole but also their individual candidates running in a dozen nationwide
constituencies. The individual races greatly helped the HHK to score a
landslide victory at the time.
Parliament To Vote On Armenian PM
• Astghik Bedevian
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks at a parliament session chaired
by speaker Ara Babloyan, 23 May 2015.
Political allies of Nikol Pashinian did not expect the Armenian parliament to
reelect him as prime minister after nominating him on Tuesday for the country’s
top government post in an effort to force snap general elections.
The Yelk alliance made the nomination a week after Pashinian resigned to ensure
that the elections vital for his political future are held in December. The
Yelk move is a mere formality designed to overcome the ambiguity of a key
constitutional provision.
The Armenian constitution stipulates that fresh elections can be called only if
the prime minister resigns and the National Assembly fails to elect his or her
successor within two weeks. Some legal experts believe that it also requires
lawmakers to vote on at least one candidate for prime minister during the
two-week period. Others see no such requirement, however.
A Yelk leader, Lena Nazarian, cited “differing interpretations” of the
constitution when she announced the nomination. She said Yelk is anxious to
make sure that the legality of the parliament’s widely anticipated dissolution
is not questioned by anyone.
“Obviously, the nomination is just a formality,” Nazarian told RFE/RL’s
Armenian service. “Our goal is to fully comply with the constitutional
procedure so that no problems arise later on.”
The parliament will debate and vote on of Pashinian’s candidacy on Wednesday.
Representatives of Yelk and two other parliamentary forces, Prosperous Armenia
(BHK) and Dashnaktsutyun, made clear that their deputies will not vote for him.
The former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), which has the largest
parliamentary faction, made no official statements to that effect. Still, one
of its senior members, parliament speaker Ara Babloyan, hinted strongly that
the HHK will not try to have Pashinian reappointed as prime minister and thus
prevent the parliament’s dissolution.
“I think all issues will be sorted out in a way that will not cause any
shocks,” Babloyan told reporters.
Nazarian and another Yelk lawmaker, Alen Simonian, also seemed confident that
the party still headed by former President Serzh Sarkisian will not foil their
plans for the early polls which Pashinian’s political team would almost
certainly win.
The HHK officially holds 50 seats in the 105-member National Assembly. To
become prime minister a candidates needs to be backed by at least 56
parliamentarians.
Pashinian was the sole candidate for the top executive post nominated before
the expiry of a legal deadline on Tuesday evening.
Lawmakers’ failure to elect a prime minister on Wednesday would lead to a
second and final parliament vote. The parliament will be automatically
dissolved if it again does not pick a premier a week later.
Armenian President Refuses To Sign ‘Counterrevolutionary’ Bill
ARMENIA - Supporters of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian gather to
protest against a bill which might complicate the dissolution of the National
Assembly, 2 October 2018.
President Armen Sarkissian has asked Armenia’s Constitutional Court to rule on
the legality of a controversial bill that sparked angry street protests in
Yerevan early this month.
The bill hastily passed by the National Assembly on October 2 might complicate
the parliament’s dissolution and the holding of fresh general elections sought
by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. It took the form of amendments to the
parliament statutes.
Pashinian accused the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) and two
other parliamentary forces of hatching a “counterrevolutionary” conspiracy
against his minority government. Responding to his appeal, thousands of his
supporters rallied outside the parliament building immediately after the
passage of the bill.
Pashinian held talks with parliament majority leaders in the following hours.
He told the angry crowd afterwards that he received assurances that they will
not hamper his efforts to force the elections in December.
Under the Armenian constitution, such polls can be held only if the prime
minister resigns and the parliament fails to replace him or her within two
weeks.
Some observers had suggested earlier that after Pashinian’s tactical
resignation his supporters will blockade the parliament to prevent it from
electing another premier during the two-week period. The controversial bill
would effectively extend that period indefinitely.
Sarkissian’s office said on Tuesday that he has decided not to sign the bill
into law because he sees “apparent legal-constitutional problems” emanating
from it. The president will therefore ask the Constitutional Court to determine
whether the bill conforms to the constitution, the office announced in a
statement.
The statement said that Sarkissian’s decision is based on a “thorough
examination” conducted by the presidential staff.
The court is extremely unlikely to hand down a ruling on the appeal before the
parliament’s dissolution widely expected to occur on October 31.
Parliament Rejects Constitutional Court Nominee
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia -- Lawyer Vahe Grigorian addresses the National Assembly. 23 October
2018.
The National Assembly on Tuesday refused to appoint a human rights lawyer
highly critical of Armenia’s former governments as a new member of the
Constitutional Court.
The lawyer, Vahe Grigorian, was nominated for the vacant position by President
Armen Sarkissian. Grigorian needed at least 63 votes in order to get elected in
secret ballot. Only 30 members of the 105-seat parliament voted for him.
Grigorian has a long history of human rights advocacy. He has also cooperated
with opposition groups that challenged former Presidents Serzh Sarkisian and
Robert Kocharian.
In particular, Grigorian represented Levon Ter-Petrosian and his Armenian
National Congress party in Constitutional Court hearings on their appeals
against official results of a 2008 presidential elections and parliamentary
elections held in 2012 and 2017. The court refused to annul the election
results.
The 2008 ballot was followed by a violent breakup of anti-government
demonstrations staged in Yerevan by the Ter-Petrosian-led opposition. Eight
protesters and two police personnel died as a result. Grigorian represents
relatives of the killed protesters at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Speaking in the parliament before the vote, Grigorian said that frequent ECHR
rulings against the Armenian state have testified to widespread human rights
abuses in the country.
“I believe that the Constitutional Court can change this situation,” he said.
“At the same time, in my view the Constitutional Court is in need of a profound
transformation.”
The British-educated lawyer also said that the court is the only state
institution that can hold the Armenian government and parliament in check.
Citing Armenia’s recent transition to a parliamentary system of government, he
argued that the executive and legislative branches will now be controlled by a
single political force.
Press Review
Lragir.am reports that President Armen Sarkissian will have to decide on
Tuesday whether to sign into law a controversial bill that could make it harder
for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian to force snap parliamentary elections. The
online publication also points to the Armenian parliament’s failure on Monday
to pass amendments to the Electoral Code drafted by the government. It says
that political opponents of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian are doing everything
to see an unconstitutional solution to the political crisis in the country.
“Those political forces do not make secret of that and this is a manifestation
of sabotage,” it says.
“Zhamanak” also comments on the government’s failure to push the amendments to
the Electoral Code through the parliament. “Thus the [former ruling] HHK showed
why pre-term parliamentary elections should be held as soon as possible,”
writes the paper. “It became evident that this force can block important
legislative initiatives if necessary. The HHK probably also lost its last
chance of obstruction because in all likelihood the parliament will be
dissolved ten days later under the already functioning mechanism for the prime
minister’s resignation.” Pashinian on Monday again warned the HHK against
electing another prime minister.
“Past” says that Pashinian’s government is facing growing criticism of its
staffing policy. “What is controversial is not so much one or another
government appointment as the official explanations for them,” writes the
paper. It says the government should do a better job of explaining the
“practical importance” of such appointments.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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