PENSIONS FOR PREZ: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PASSES LAW ON PRIVILEGES FOR FORMER HEADS OF STATE
SOCIETY | 04.03.15 | 15:10
By SARA KHOJOYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
Amendments to the law on provisions for former presidents were past in
the National Assembly Wednesday. Parliament passed, on first reading,
changes that would give former presidents 70 percent of their salary,
plus a furnished study for life.
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) faction MP Artsvik Minasyan
spoke about the president’s institute and its value at the discussion.
According to him, the current law already provides a pension, while
the suggested version implies granting a status provisioned by law.
(The current official presidential monthly salary is about $2,780 –
meaning that former presidents Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Robert Kocharyan
stand to receive about $1,950 per month under the new conditions.)
Heritage faction MP Zaruhi Postanjyan says the changes are unnecessary
and misguided.
“As far as I know, both previous presidents are well-off, and do not
need this provision, especially in the circumstances that more than
a million people in Armenia live in poverty, and many elderly people
need pensions,” Postanjyan said.
Meanwhile the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) faction MP Khosrov
Harutyunyan said that the amount suggested as a pension is very little.
“We single the President out because we recognize his important public
role. But, if this pension is for solving vital problems, then it is
very little,” Harutyunyan said, suggesting a monetary endowment for
presidents instead of pension.
According to Head of Orinats Yerkir party faction Heghine Bisharyan,
privileges must be provided for PMs and Parliament Speakers as well.
“Why don’t we pay more attention to the question of the second and
third figures? They are no less important figures for the country,
why don’t we have certain principles,” Bisharyan said.
National Assembly Speaker and RPA member Eduard Sharmazanov responded
to Orinats Yerkir representatives, saying that, according to the
Armenian Constitution, one person can serve at the president’s post
not more than two terms, however the Speaker and the PM can be elected
and appointed unlimited.