Monday,
Armenian Parliament Again Fails To Pass Key Election Bill
• Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - The National Assembly debates amendments to the Electoral Code
drafted by the government, Yerevan, 22 October 2018
The largest parliamentary party on Monday again effectively blocked the passage
of a raft of major amendments to the Electoral Code drafted by his government
for snap general elections expected in December.
One week after voting down the package the Republican Party of Armenia of
ex-president Serzh Sarkisian again opposed the changes that were one more time
brought to the parliament floor after more than a quarter of lawmakers
initiated a relevant special session, using their powers.
The amendments formally approved by the government on October 16 are aimed at
facilitating the proper conduct of the elections. They would, among other
things, change the existing legal mechanism for distributing seats in the
National Assembly which many believe favored the HHK in the last parliamentary
elections held in April 2017.
Under Armenia’s constitution, any amendment to the Electoral Code must be
backed by at least 63 members of the 105-member parliament. Only 62 lawmakers
voted for the government bill this time around, with two lawmakers voting
against it.
Still a week ago Pashinian accused the parliament majority of “sabotaging” the
work of his cabinet. The former ruling party has dismissed the accusations,
insisting that it has officially voiced its opposition to the proposed changes
and simply followed its policy.
The HHK deems it wrong to change the Electoral Code less than two months before
expected general elections. It has also accused the government of ignoring a
number of alternative proposals that were jointly made by the four political
factions in the current National Assembly.
HHK lawmaker Armen Ashotian on Monday described the second attempt at getting
the draft legislation passed as “a travesty of democracy.”
“Changing an electoral law just 40 days before an election is simply absurd,”
he commented, talking to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service (Azatutyun.am).
“Especially explaining such an antidemocratic step by the intention of
strengthening democracy is a travesty of democracy,” Ashotian added.
The bill would have passed if at least one of two members of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) faction who were absent from the
voting had participated in it and voted in favor of the amended electoral law.
Speaking after the session, Alen Simonian, a lawmaker with the pro-Pashinian
Yelk alliance, stopped short of accusing any political party or group of the
failure of the bill, but said that individual lawmakers who did not vote for
the bill effectively “sabotaged” the effort.
“I think we will participate [in the elections] by the current law and will see
whether it will do any good to those who opposed the bill or were pretending to
be ill [during the vote]. We’ll see whether they can succeed in being returned
to the National Assembly and have a say in the next parliament, because the
[rejected] bill was designed to ensure maximum representation in the National
Assembly,” Simonian said.
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. Wealthy HHK candidates relied heavily on their
financial resources and government connections to earn both themselves and
their party many votes.
The bill put forward by Pashinian’s government also envisaged safeguards
against vote rigging and other major changes such as lower vote thresholds for
winning seats in parliament and recovering election deposits.
Gianni Buquicchio, the president of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission,
said on October 20 that the draft amendments “pursue legitimate aims and seem
mostly positive.” In a statement, he also noted “the specific situation in
Armenia, which requires the holding of early elections.”
Buquicchio said at the same time that the commission still has “reservations”
about the proposed change of the electoral system. He stressed, though, that
“these reservations are less relevant if there is consensus among political
forces about the change.”
The Armenian National Assembly is expected to be dissolved later this week
when, according to an apparent political agreement, its members will again vote
down the candidacy of acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian for the post of the
head of the government or otherwise fail to elect a new prime minister.
Today’s narrow defeat of the key election bill, therefore, almost certainly
means that the expected preterm general elections in December will be conducted
in accordance with the existing legislation.
Acting Prime Minister Pashinian and his political team have expressed
confidence that they will win the expected ballot and form the next government
either way. They have argued, at the same time, that amendments to the existing
electoral legislation would have raised the political quality of the election
campaigns.
Armenian Tycoon Says Will Top Party List In December Elections
• Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - Gagik Tsarukian, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party, talks to
journalists, Yerevan,29Oct,2018
Gagik Tsarukian will top the election list of his political party in snap
general elections expected in December, the wealthy Armenian businessman and
lawmaker said on Monday.
Tsarukian, whose alliance has the second largest faction in the outgoing
parliament, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) that he will
personally draw up a list of candidates of his Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK)
in time for the ballot which is expected to be forced later this week when the
Armenian National Assembly, under an apparent political agreement, is due to
fail to elect a new prime minister and get dissolved by virtue of law.
“I’m still thinking about what to do to make changes,” added the tycoon, whose
party only narrowly could enter the Yerevan city council in September elections
won by acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s alliance by a landslide.
The BHK held several ministerial and gubernatorial posts in the Pashinian
government after last spring’s power change. The party lost its posts on
October 2 when many of its lawmakers voted in favor the former ruling
Republican Party-drafted bill that would supposedly complicate the holding of
snap elections in the near future.
Tsarukian later recommitted himself to helping Pashinian force snap general
elections before the end of this year following a massive show of support for
the popular government by demonstrators in Yerevan.
Asked whether the BHK will run on an opposition platform, Tsarukian said: “I
cannot say now. I am for whatever my people want, I have no personal interest.”
The leader of the party that backed the Pashinian government’s failed bid to
amend the electoral law ahead of the snap elections said it made no difference
for him under what law to run for parliament. He said the important thing for
him and his party was to ensure a fair campaign.
The BHK accused Pashinian supporters of unleashing a smear campaign against it
and its mayoral candidate Naira Zohrabian in the September elections in
Yerevan, a claim vehemently denied by the pro-government alliance.
Karabakh Mediators Meet With Armenian Leaders In Yerevan
Armenia’s acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian meets with the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs in Yerevan, 29Oct 2018
The troika of international mediators advancing peace efforts to resolve the
protracted Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh paid a visit to
Yerevan on Monday.
While in the Armenian capital the American, Russian and French co-chairs of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk Group
–Andrew Schofer, Igor Popov and Stephane Visconti – met with the country’s
political leadership, including acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, acting
Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian and acting Defense Minister David Tonoyan.
During the meetings the Armenian officials and the Minsk Group co-chairs, who
were accompanied by the OSCE president-in-office’s personal representative
Andrzej Kasprzyk, in particular, addressed the meeting of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani leaders on the margins of a summit of post-Soviet leaders in
Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in late September.
Acting Armenian Prime Minister Pashinian and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
addressed “the dynamics of the Karabakh peace process after the latest
political changes in Armenia,” according to the press office of the acting head
of the Armenian government.
“The sides exchanged views on the meeting between the Armenian prime minister
and the president of Azerbaijan that took place in Dushanbe in late September
as well as agreements reached during that meeting. Nikol Pashinian attached
importance to sticking to the agreements and implementing them effectively,
which will promote the formation of mutual trust and a corresponding atmosphere
for the peace process. The sides outlined future possible steps,” the statement
issued by Pashinian’s office said.
During a separate meeting Armenian Defense Minister Tonoyan briefed the Minsk
Group co-chairs on the situation at the Armenian-Azerbaijan state border and
along the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno-Karabakh and
Azerbaijan, according to an official report.
“Stressing the importance of the agreement reached between the Armenian and
Azerbaijani leaders in Dushanbe about the launching of operational
communications, the Armenian defense minister expressed a hope that the
co-chair countries would make efforts to establish and launch communications
based on the example of the communication between the parties in the Nakhijevan
direction, also in other operational areas,” the report said.
Stressing that the Armenian armed forces are “closely monitoring the situation
and control any movements”, Tonoyan said that “in the current conditions,
unconditional adherence to the ceasefire between the parties, the
implementation of measures aimed at reducing risks and preventing incidents are
of key importance.”
For his part, Armenian Foreign Minister Mnatsakanian stressed at his meeting
with the international mediators that the practical application of the
agreements reached between Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is
aimed at “forming and promoting an atmosphere of peace.” He stressed that the
need for “rejecting militarist and unconstructive policy” remains urgent.
The sides reportedly discussed further steps of the co-chairs. In this regard,
Mnatsakanian stressed that it will be possible to assess further steps “more
comprehensively” after the mediators visit Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, the
report said.
Russia Slams Bolton Over Statements In Armenia
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Moscow
In a comment released on Monday the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has
criticized United States National Security Adviser John Bolton for his
statements made while visiting Armenia last week.
“U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton who visited Yerevan the other day
demanded openly that Armenia renounce historical clichés in its international
relations and hardly bothered to conceal the fact that this implied Armenia’s
traditional friendship with Russia. He also said that he expected [Armenian
Prime Minister] Nikol Pashinian to voice initiatives on the Nagorno-Karabakh
settlement after the national parliamentary elections. Naturally, he [Bolton]
did not forget to advertise U.S. weapons that Armenia should buy instead of
Russian weapons,” the Russian Ministry’s Information and Press Department said.
“Incidentally, not all of John Bolton’s statements in Yerevan deserve to be
criticized. In his October 25 interview to RFE/RL, he made a wonderful comment:
‘I think that’s really fundamental to Armenia exercising its full sovereignty
and not being dependent on or subject to excessive foreign influence.’ It would
be good if John Bolton thinks over the meaning of his own words,” the comment
said.
The comment opened with a reference to the “farewell” speech made by former
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard M. Mills before he left Yerevan.
“He [Mills] publicly instructed the leaders of the host country on economic
policy matters and promised lavish funding to local NGOs for controlling the
government. It appears that there can be no greater impudence that cannot be
discerned from direct interference in domestic affairs. But this is not so,”
said the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Information and Press Department before
referring to Bolton’s statements.
Press Review
(Saturday, October 27)
“Zhamank” suggests that after failing to capitalize on foreign-policy and other
issues, the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) is using its last
resort – patriotism – in opposing the current government. The newspaper refers
to the remarks by HHK parliamentary faction leader Vahram Baghdasarian who
described the statement of John Bolton, U.S. President Donald Trump’s national
security adviser, made in Yerevan as “unacceptable”, since, he claimed, it
concerns traditional values. It writes: “The matter concerns Bolton’s call for
Armenia not to be constrained by historical patterns and be more open to the
outside world. Bolton says that Armenia should not regard Russia as the only
savior, but should look at a level-playing field where despite some stiff
competition among nations, there is also a big opportunity for development.”
“168 Zham” spoke to Modest Kolerov, editor-in-chief of the Russian news agency,
Regnum, who asserted that Bolton’s statements in Yerevan were a call on
Armenia’s acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian “to pay the United States for
assistance with concrete steps, for example, with dynamics in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement that could be presented as an American
initiative.” As for Russia, according to Kolerov, Moscow will not interfere,
but will follow the current developments.
“Zhoghovurd” runs an article on the 19th anniversary of the Armenian parliament
shooting in which the country’s prime minister, parliament speaker and six
other officials were assassinated by a group of gunmen led by Nairi Hunanian.
“October 27 is a day of mourning for many in Armenia. The terrorist act on that
day 19 years ago beheaded the Armenian government. In the following years one
question was always asked: who was behind the gunmen and on whose orders they
were acting?... Whereas during the years of the presidencies of Robert
Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian the fact that many aspects of those
assassinations remained undisclosed seemed logical to many, after the “velvet”
revolution the Armenian society has had quite high expectations and in the near
future the government ought to take steps in the direction of re-opening
investigation into a separate case concerning the possible organizers of the
assassinations,” the paper writes.
The editor of “Aravot” also reflects on the October 27, 1999 assassinations,
suggesting that while Armenia would hardly have done any dramatically better in
terms of building a democratic state and eradicating corruption but for that
crime, still in the absence of two assassinated strongmen – Prime Minister
Vazgen Sargsian and Parliament Speaker Karen Demirchian – then president
Kocharian went on to rule single-handedly, while political competition
disappeared. “During the parliamentary elections of 2003, the president himself
drew up the lists of two leading political parties and it was simply absurd to
talk about mechanisms of checks and balances in such conditions… Armenia was
plunged into a long period of stagnation as the country’s oligarchy and
bureaucracy saw who the master was. And it went on for 18 years before this
year’s revolution…. I think that instability that can at least open some doors
is in any case more preferable than hopeless stagnation,” the daily’s editor
writes.
(Tatev Danielian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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