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Oskanian's Consolidation: Election law passed with unprecedented violation of law
On Thursday, April 28, the Armenian National Assembly voted 98-9 to pass in the first reading the new Electoral Code. There were 5 abstentions. The Consolidation, a new political party established by Armenia’s former foreign minister, Vartan Oskanian, has issued a statement in connection with the Thursday vote.
- We are against the adoption of a law, which contains certain provisions that are considered to be controversial by political parties and public organizations;
- we regret that political forces participating in the discussions on the draft Electoral Code have not reached a consensus on the draft law;
- the voting was accompanied by an unprecedented violation of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly, as the lawmakers were not given an opportunity to speak before the vote which was envisaged by the established order. Along with the other lawmakers, a representative of the Consolidation party was also deprived of the opportunity to make an important statement. Such an important law should not be adopted with violations and in an unhealthy atmosphere. A number of MPs did not even manage to vote.
- we stress the importance of adopting the Electoral Code in a positive atmosphere of consensus decision-making and we are going to submit our proposals.
