ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARY VICE SPEAKER COMMENTS ON REFORMS IN ELECTION SYSTEM

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 20, ARMINFO. Changeover to 100% proportional system
of elections to the Armenian Parliament will rather bring damage than
benefit, Vice Chairman of the Armenian Parliament Tigran Torosyan said
at a press-conference at the National Press Club today.

Touching upon the forthcoming reforms in the Election Code of Armenia,
Torosyan said that the Council of the political parties included in
the ruling coalition has repeatedly considered the above
issue. However, sharp changes must be ruled out in order not to damage
the whole reforms. It is not a secret that political parties in
Armenia cannot be called full-fledged, that is why a full changeover
to the proportional principle will become a peculiar obstacle in the
way of “oligarchs running for the parliament on majority constituency,
they will successfully prove to be in the party lists, and it happened
to all the parties without an exception during the last parliamentary
elections in 2003,” Torosyan said.

He refused to bring any specific figures of single-mandate and ticket
seats in the Armenian Parliament, calling it untimely. Vice Speaker
touched upon the recent actively spread issue on possible advancement
of Robert Kocharyan’s candidature for a third term. He said that this
issue was not discussed either during consideration of the package of
constitutional reforms in 2003 or in the course of the current
discussions. As regards freedom of native mass media, Torosyan said
that this sphere like the others in the country is not perfect.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress