ARF Dashnaktsutyun Won’t Make Up Its Mind

ARF DASHNAKTSUTYUN WON’T MAKE UP ITS MIND

Lragir.am
Oct 23 2006

Although a parliamentary election is going to be held in Armenia
in seven months, the election code has not been adopted yet, and no
possibility of political agreement on all the questions is outlining
yet.

The proposals of the political parties which are not represented to the
parliament are not taken into account. The debates are mainly about the
correlation of the proportional and majority seats. All the political
parties except the Republican Party endorse a 100 percent proportional
system of election. The ARF Dashnaktsutyun is faithful to its style,
"We are for the proportional system but we are not ready for it yet,"
this is the standpoint of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun which was reasserted
on October 23 at the National Assembly.

Unfortunately, the members of the ARF decline to say when we will be
ready for a proportional system of elections, in 10 years or in 110
years, and what we should do to prepare for it.

As usual, this time too only the opposition and one or two
representatives of the parliament majority were present. The
button-pushers referring to themselves as members of parliament did
not listen either. Shavarsh Kocharyan was trying to understand how
it happens that other bills are included in the agenda, meanwhile
the draft electoral code worked out by his political party has been
circulated since March 2006 but has not been included in the agenda.

Victor Dallakyan wanted to convey to everyone that the proportional
system is the right system, and politics is the business of the
political forces.

The deputy foreign minister of defense Arthur Aghabekyan stated about
the bill on the defense of Armenia that the offered ammendments are
not only meant to make the law compliant with the new Constitution
but are also important for the army. In particular, it is offered to
set down in the law that the defense minister is empowered to study
and evaluate the political-military situation, the military threats,
the degree of the country’s security, takes part in working out the
major directions of the military policy of the Republic. In the law
the ministry of defense is entitled to these powers. Besides, Arthur
Agabekyan said the defense minister will not fulfill these functions
alone but after consulting the corresponding agencies of the Ministry
of Defense and experts.