RPA AND BH PROPOSE WITHDRAWING ORDER OF NOMINATING CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENCY AND DEPUTY BY PARTIES’ BLOCS FROM ELECTORAL CODE
Noyan Tapan
Nov 5, 2007
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. At the November 5 special
sitting, the RA National Assembly started discussing the bill On
Making Amendments and Addenda to the RA Electoral Code in first
reading. According to the bill authored by a group of deputies
of the RPA and Bargavach Hayastan (Prosperous Armenia) factions,
amendments and addenda are envisaged in 47 out of 141 articles of
the Electoral Code.
According to the main reporter Samvel Nikoyan, the Secretary of the
RPA faction, the proposals made by international observers aimed
at improvement of the Electoral Code were taken into account in the
draft law. The international observers took into consideration the
shortcomings noticed in the May 12 parliamentary elections when making
the proposals.
According to the bill, it is proposed restoring the provision withdrawn
during the previous amending of the Electoral Code, according to which
citizens not being in the place of their registration on the day of
voting receive the right to vote in the place of their location. At
the same time the possibility of being included in two electoral rolls
simultaneously should be prevented. It is also stipulated that RA
citizens cannot be registered as international observers and foreign
citizens as local observers.
The amounts of electoral security for candidates of presidency and
deputy by the majoritarian system are also increased. The security
for candidates for presidency is established in the amount of 10m
drams against the current 5m drams and for candidates for deputy by
the majoritarian system 1m drams against the current 100 thousand
drams (nearly 300 USD). The amount of the sum of the RA President’s
preelection fund is also envisaged to be increased. It is planned to
establish it in the amount of 140m drams against the current 70m drams.
The order of nomination on civil initiative and by parties’ blocs of
candidates of deputy by the majoritarian system, as well as candidates
for presidency is withdrawn. This order is replaced by the principle
of candidates’ self-nomination.