Wednesday, 

Armenian Parties Concerned Over Election Bill Failure

        • Gayane Saribekian

The parliament building in Yerevan

A number of political parties not represented in Armenia’s outgoing parliament 
have voiced their concern about the prospect of “apolitical elections” ahead 
after the former ruling party twice effectively blocked amendments to the 
electoral laws earlier this month.

The current government led by popular leader Nikol Pashinian had drafted 
amendments to the Electoral Code envisaging the scrapping of a controversial 
system of so-called rating ballots that was first used in the 2017 
parliamentary elections and is widely believed to have been instrumental in 
ensuring the victory of former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party of 
Armenia (HHK).

Under that system, voters across Armenia cast their ballots not only for 
political parties and alliances as a whole but also for their individual 
candidates running in a dozen nationwide constituencies.

Many political experts believe that such individual races degrade political 
competition and make financial resources and government connections more 
essential in securing votes.

Thus, a few HHK candidates wielding considerable financial resources and 
connections provided the bulk of votes for the party in the 2017 polls.

The Pashinian government twice brought amendments that also envisaged 
safeguards against vote rigging and other major changes such as lower vote 
thresholds for winning seats in parliament and recovering election deposits, 
but in both cases the bill failed to get the support of two-thirds of the 
lawmakers as required by the constitution.

The HHK said it deemed it wrong to change the Electoral Code less than two 
months before expected general elections. It also accused the government of 
ignoring a number of alternative proposals.

Now the prospect of holding snap elections in December under the current 
Electoral Code has raised concerns among a number of extra-parliamentary 
political parties.

Deputy Chairman of the Armenian National Congress Party (HAK) Aram Manukian 
regretted the failure of the passage of election law amendments, noting that 
they would have created prerequisites for forming a political parliament. Under 
the current legislation, in his words, “the vicious phenomena inherent in the 
former government are inevitable.”

“It is already obvious that there will be no ideological competition, it is 
already obvious that there will be no competition of programs, but everything 
again will come down to a revolutionaries versus counterrevolutionaries 
struggle and the political component will be lost in the process,” said 
Manukian, adding that the HAK, which is led by ex-president Levon 
Ter-Petrosian, still has not decided whether it will take part in the elections 
in such conditions.

“Discussions are continuing, but it is obvious that our trump card – the 
presentation of a liberal economic program as a model for the development of 
Armenia – will no longer be a serious factor in the upcoming campaign,” the 
HAK’s deputy chairman said.

The failure of the parliament to adopt the new Electoral Code did not change 
the decision of another extra-parliamentary party – Heritage, of former foreign 
minister Raffi Hovannisian – to participate. “The Heritage Party participated 
in elections in conditions of violence and intimidation, and we have no 
problems in terms of participation,” said Chairman of the party’s board Armen 
Martirosian.

Martirosian, however, sees a certain opportunity for the former ruling party to 
use the current electoral legislation in order to regain some of its positions.

“Unfortunately, the existing Electoral Code is anti-political, anti-party and, 
I would even say, anti-state. In fact, the former government will have a very 
good opportunity to try to reanimate itself to a certain extent, and it is 
obvious that with such a multitude of loyal heads of rural communities it will 
be very difficult [for the authorities] to prevent vote buying in villages,” he 
added.

Varuzhan Avetisian, one of the leaders of the newly established Sasna Tsrer 
party, said that difficulties were expected, but he stressed that they rely on 
their supporters. “I have some concerns that there will also be attempts to rig 
the election results, and some of this rigging will go undetected, since it is 
a very elaborate mechanism… Some local kings will again have the opportunity to 
enter the parliament. And, unfortunately, the next parliament will not fully 
reflect the political will of the people,” said Avetisian.

The Armenian parliament is expected to be dissolved on November 1 after failing 
to elect a new prime minister in a vote scheduled for that day. Snap 
parliamentary elections then will be held in the first half of December.

A local civil group, “We Are Owners Of Our Country”, has called a protest 
outside the parliament building on October 31 demanding that lawmakers amend 
the current Electoral Code before the holding of fresh general elections.



Armenia Downplays Istanbul Declaration On Karabakh


Anna Naghdalian, a spokesperson for the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 
at a press conference in Yerevan, 24Oct,2018

Armenia has downplayed the significance of a declaration referring to 
Nagorno-Karabakh adopted by the foreign ministers of Turkey, Iran and 
Azerbaijan at their meeting in Istanbul earlier this week, reminding that “the 
OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Minsk Group 
co-chairmanship is the only format with an international mandate to help settle 
the conflict.”

“It is within this format that the principles of the conflict settlement are 
set forth as a whole. A selective treatment of those principles does not in any 
way contribute to the efforts towards a peaceful settlement,” Armenian Foreign 
Ministry spokesperson Anna Naghdalian said on Tuesday.

“Wordings made outside the framework of the Minsk Group co-chairmanship and 
contradicting it are artificial and have nothing to do with the settlement of 
the problem,” she added.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was one of the issues on the agenda of a 
trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan that 
was held in Istanbul on October 29.

In the declaration adopted after the end of the negotiations Mevlut Cavusoglu, 
Mohammad JavadZarif and Elmar Mammedyarov called for a peaceful resolution of 
conflicts in the region “based on the principle of territorial integrity.” The 
three foreign ministers specifically highlighted the importance of solving the 
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in accordance with this principle.

Nagorno-Karabakh, populated mainly by ethnic Armenians, declared independence 
from Azerbaijan amid the collapse of the Soviet Union, triggering a war that 
claimed an estimated 30,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

A cease-fire was called in 1994, but decades of internationally mediated 
negotiations with the involvement of the OSCE’s Minsk Group have failed to 
result in a resolution. The Minsk Group is co-chaired by the United States, 
Russia and France.



Armenian Parliament Passes Amnesty Bill


Armenia - Results of parliament's voting on the amnesty bill, Yerevan,31Oct,2018

The Armenian National Assembly on Wednesday voted to approve an amnesty bill 
timed to the 100th anniversary of the First Armenian Republic and the 2800th 
anniversary of the foundation of Yerevan marked this year.

Seventy-two lawmakers of the 105-seat body voted in favor of the bill, with no 
one voting against the measure or abstaining from the vote.

The second reading of the bill and its final adoption are expected on November 
1.

Acting Justice Minister Artak Zeynalian, who presented the draft legislation in 
parliament, said the proposed amnesty would in one way or another apply to an 
estimated 6,500 people, with 660 of 2,888 due to be released from prisons.

Specifically, according to Zeynalian, convicts serving sentences of up to three 
years in prison are to be released and prosecutions of people, launched before 
October 1, 2018, on charges punishable by up to three years in prison are to be 
discontinued. Amnesty will also cover people who committed crimes by negligence 
and face up to five years in prison.

First and second-group disabled convicts serving sentences of up to six years 
in prison as well as some other categories of convicts, including pregnant 
women, people aged above 60 or below 18 who meet specific criteria, are also to 
be covered by the amnesty.

The current amnesty also applies to members of the Sasna Tsrer armed group that 
seized and held for two weeks a police compound in Yerevan in July 2016 and 
members of the radical opposition Founding Parliament movement who were tried 
and convicted of plotting a coup in 2015.

The amnesty does not apply to people who committed heavy crimes, were engaged 
in trafficking, obstructed journalists’ professional work, committed high 
treason, terrorist acts, sabotages and other serious crimes.

As for convicts serving life sentences, according to the acting justice 
minister, an individual approach will be shown in each case, as, he said, the 
Ministry is not entitled to revise sentences of such convicts.

Families of a number of convicts serving life sentences have staged protests in 
front of the National Assembly building demanding that the current amnesty, 
which the government describes as the largest ever in Armenian history, be also 
somehow applied to their relatives.




Ex-President Sarkisian Vacates Government Villa

        • Ruzanna Stepanian

Former Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian

Former Armenian President and Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian on Wednesday left 
the government villa in Yerevan where he continued to live after resigning from 
office in April, the ex-leader’s aide told RFE/RL’s Armenian service 
(Azatutyun.am).

According to Nairi Petrosian, the head of Sarkisian’s office, the ex-leader 
will live in a house in Dzoraghbyur, a village just outside capital Yerevan.

As a former president, Sarkisian is entitled to a house provided to him by the 
government. After resigning as prime minister on April 23, Sarkisian and his 
wife continued to live in the government villa next to the family of Nikol 
Pashinian, who moved in after becoming prime minister on May 8.

Still in early October Prime Minister Pashinian’s chief of staff Eduard 
Aghajanian said that in November Sarkisian would have to vacate the premises 
that he had occupied for more than 10 years.

Shortly before the change of government, then Prime Minister Karen Karapetian’s 
cabinet decided to grant the house to Sarkisian as his property. Amid criticism 
and growing public protests Sarkisian relinquished the right of ownership two 
days after being controversially elected by parliament on April 17 as prime 
minister to continue to occupy the number one post in the country after two 
straight five-year terms as president. Sarkisian then quit his office amid 
antigovernment protests led by then opposition leader Pashinian.

Already as prime minister Pashinian instructed his chief of staff to provide 
the ex-president with a house, but, according to the government, Sarkisian has 
rejected all proposed options, including a house in Yerevan’s administrative 
district of Avan with a market price of $1,250,000.

According to Aghajanian, the reasons for the rejections were mainly connected 
with security concerns.

“In the case with the Avan house, for example, they cited the presence of some 
electric wire or line over the house, which, according to them, created a 
security problem,” he said.

“That [house in Avan] was our last offer. We are not going to propose any other 
options,” Pashinian’s aide concluded.



Armenian Entrepreneur Accuses Ex-Minister Of Taking A Bribe

        • Narine Ghalechian

Armenia -- Silva Hambardzumian, a businesswoman, speaks to RFE/RL. 31Oct.,2018

Armenian businesswoman Silva Hambardzumian claims that in 2008 she gave a $14 
million bribe to the then environment minister and current lawmaker Aram 
Harutiunian to obtain a mine development license.

“I transferred $8 million to a bank account in Dubai that he mentioned to me 
and paid another $6 million by installments through a person whose name was 
Suren Avagian,” Hambardzumian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

“I had contacts with Aram Harutiunian since 2007 and bought three organizations 
from him. Then, when I mentioned my intention to buy several mines, I was told 
that others had offered bribes for that. I asked to quote the amount I should 
pay and he said it was $14 million. He gave the bank account number of another 
person named Araks Dilanian and on February 2, 2008 I transferred that money,” 
the entrepreneur claimed.

Hambardzumian said that she received a license after allegedly giving the 
bribe, but soon afterwards that license was suspended. She said she demanded 
that Harutiunian return the money and he promised to provide real estate 
instead, but eventually did not keep his promise. “He told me I could do 
anything, but would get nothing. After that meeting I went straight to the 6th 
police department [combating organized crime] and reported the crime,” she said.

Hambardzumian claimed that Araks Dilanian, to whom she paid the money by 
installments, transferred it to the Dubai bank accounts of three Armenian 
citizens. “One of those citizens is Gagik Karapetian, the director of the Sevan 
Psychiatric Hospital, another is his worker Viktor Martirosian, and I didn’t 
know the third one. After I received those papers it turned out that the third 
person was Armen Khachatrian, who is the director of property owned by Aram 
Harutiunian.”

The director of the Sevan Psychiatric Hospital, however, denied that he was 
involved in the case. “I don’t know such a person. Please do not call me over 
that matter, do not disturb me,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian service 
(Azatutyun.am).

Attempts by RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) to contact MP Aram 
Harutiunian were not successful throughout the day.

The lawmaker affiliated with the former ruling Republican Part of Armenia did 
not even attend the National Assembly session today.

Last week acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian stated from the parliament 
tribune that one of the MPs was suspected of taking bribes. He did not give the 
name of the suspect, but local media began to circulate the name of former 
environment minister Harutiunian.

Pashinian also said that the law-enforcement authorities expected a document 
from another country’s foreign ministry.

Hambardzumian said that in order to finalize the legal case, they will soon 
receive official papers regarding the three citizens from Dubai, United Arab 
Emirates.

“Our [Special] Investigative Service wants to clarify the passport data of 
those people. Soon they will send it, too,” she said.

Asked whether she acknowledged that giving a bribe is also a criminal offense, 
Hambardzumian said that it wasn’t in 2008. “I think and have always thought 
that giving a bribe should be punishable, but since there was no way of dealing 
with the former government otherwise, since it was impossible to do any 
business without giving a bribe, I guess many people like me had to do so,” she 
said.

The Special Investigative Service has not yet confirmed whether it is 
investigating the case.



Ex-Chief Investigator In Post-Election Unrest Probe Charged With Falsifying 
Evidence

        • Naira Bulghadarian

Vahagn Harutiunian, former head of the Investigative Group on March 1-2, 2008 
post-election violence

The former head of an investigation group conducting a probe into the 2008 
post-election unrest has been charged with falsifying evidence in the case and 
is now wanted by Armenian authorities, according to the Special Investigative 
Service (SIS).

In a report released on Wednesday the SIS said Vahagn Harutiunian, who was the 
senior investigator of the Service in 2007-2011, “organized the falsification 
of evidence, in particular, with a view to hiding the real circumstances of the 
unconstitutional use of armed forces during the March 1-2, 2008 events in 
Yerevan, including the illegal use of firearms by officers of the armed forces.”

The report says about a 1,000 used cartridges of firearms discovered at various 
sites where the deadly events were unfolding were subsequently replaced with 
the same types and calibers of cartridges fired from the same types of weapons 
belonging to the police troops.

The SIS said a ballistic expert assisted in the falsification and later 
provided a false conclusion regarding the cartridges. The expert, who is not 
identified by his full name yet, was also charged in the case. Both men have 
been put on the police wanted list. The SIS has asked the court to choose 
arrest as a measure of restraint against both Harutiunian and the ballistic 
expert.

Harutiunian, who has the rank of a major-general of justice, quit his senior 
position at the Armenian Investigative Committee in July.

While leading the investigation into the 2008 post-election violence, in which 
10 people were killed, Harutiunian repeatedly denied at meetings with 
journalists that the probe was being conducted improperly.



Press Review



Ahead of the expected dissolution of parliament Lragir.am writes: “The 
parliament which is to be dissolved symbolizes the criminal oligarchy that 
ruled in Armenia for two decades during which the state system kept improving 
the mechanisms and ideology of usurping power that were supposed to keep the 
ruling party in power forever. But this parliament will soon become history and 
the next parliament is likely to be a transitional one, since there will be no 
election in classical terms – it will be the confirmation of the revolution and 
full transition of power.”

The editor of “Aravot” suggests that after the revolution a parliament 
dominated by loyalists of the former government became a potential source of 
instability in the country: “The problem is not even how the outgoing 
parliament was elected, but in the relations between the legislative and 
executive branches of power. In conditions of the [government’s] lacking a 
stable majority in parliament these relations are far from being harmonious, 
and such a situation could harm our state.”

“Zhamanak” notices a “panic” among a majority of Armenian parties regarding the 
prospect of their participating in elections under the existing electoral 
system that implies so-called rating ballots. “The failure of the amendments in 
parliament will make their lives considerably more difficult. The amendments 
implied that they could hope to get into parliament even by polling some 2 
percent of the vote, but now it seems impossible. Besides, these political 
parties do not possess enough candidates to run in individual races under the 
rating vote system,” the paper writes.

(Lilit Harutiunian)





Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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