Member of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Hovhannes Sahakyan commented on February 15 parliamentary hearings on the opposition’s proposal to move to 100% proportional system, describing it as political PR move.
“This was mere political PR before the upcoming elections,” he said.
Sahakyan believes opposition proved this by leaving the session room after their “loud” statements without listening to the arguments of the authorities. He stressed that good elections do not depend on the proportional or majority system but rather the election culture and political will. He suggested that the opposition address the Constitutional Court so that the latter decide on the compliance of the 100% proportional system with the Constitution.
National Assembly member, representative of the opposition Heritage party Larisa Alaverdyan declared, in turn, that they aimed to draw public attention to the problems of electoral system which emerged back in 1995. She also noted that developed countries propose different requirements to those wishing to enter the parliament while the only thing required in Armenia is money.
The Armenian parliament held hearings on February 15 on transfer to 100 per cent proportional system of elections. The opposition Heritage and ARF Dashnaktsutyun parties came up with a joint statement on December 27, 2011 calling on the authorities to cancel the majority electoral system and move to 100 per cent proportional system of elections. The Armenian National Congress (ANC) and a number of other opposition forces backed this initiative. ANC also declared they plan to organize a rally during parliamentary discussions to support the idea.
The coalition Prosperous Armenia party together with the opposition Heritage and ARF Dashnaktsutyun parties addressed the speaker of the National Assembly Samvel Nikoyan on January 26 to organize parliamentary hearings on the issue of moving to 100 per cent proportional system of elections.
