HERITAGE PARTY PICK UP THEIR PARLIAMENTARY MANDATES
By Ruzanna Khachatrian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
June 12 2007
Members of parliament representing the opposition Heritage party of
ex-foreign minister Raffi Hovannisian received their parliamentary
mandates at the Central Election Commission on Tuesday.
The party’s leader had stated before the first session of Armenia’s
fourth National Assembly last Thursday that Heritage would not get
their mandates as they had not received, in a manner reflective of
the rule of law, due notice of that session or any invitation.
Besides, he said then, Heritage found it impossible to be present at
any parliament session until the Constitutional Court decided on the
validity of the parliamentary elections.
The Constitutional Court on Sunday upheld the legitimacy of the May
12 elections in which Heritage received six percent of the vote and
the right to form a seven-member faction in parliament.
"The faction will be promoting not only democratic, national
and liberal values, but also the respect for the state’s law and
constitution," Hovannisian told RFE/RL.
The faction is expected to elect its leaders and make appointments
of its members to the National Assembly’s standing committees soon.
Hovannisian’s Heritage makes up a small opposition together with
ex-parliament speaker Artur Baghdasarian’s Orinats Yerkir. Both
political parties are viewed as pro-western by the public and analysts.
Hovannisian, however, says that Heritage is "a pro-Armenian" force.
"It is incumbent on the new generation of Armenia’s leaders to decide
whether Armenia joins NATO as a member or not," Hovannisian said. "It
may happen that the issue will be on the agenda in the next five or ten
years, but for the time being Armenia must become a sovereign state,
a state that respects itself, and not a banana republic. And this
implies mutual respect with strategic, traditional and new partners."