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SPECIAL SESSION IN THE NA. “EUROPE MUST GET READY FOR WASHING”

Politics

«Where is Arshak Sadoyan? », the NA special session started with this question of the NA President with a delay of an hour. It was convened to discuss the three draft constitutions. At 10:00 a.m. only 54 delegates were registered instead of the 66 necessary to secure quorum.

The United Labor Party fraction did not register although there were in the hall. «We are boycotting», announced head of the fraction Gourgen Arsenyan without any explanation. Nevertheless, at 11:00 the United Labor Party was registered too. The session started with the representation of the Arshak Sadoyan’s draft constitution articles on Local Governing bodies and referendum. Yesterday Arshak Sadoyan had not had enough time to finish his speech.

“Today in Armenia there is no real system of local governing”, announced Sadoyan. He offered to divide Armenia into 25 parts where local self-governing will be realized in two levels – community and regional. That is – not only the heads of the communities but also the regional governors will be elected. Sadoyan offers two variants of elections of the latter.

The first variant is that each community aldermen elects a representative who will form the regional aldermen, and choose one as regional governor. The second is that the regional governor is chosen by means of direct election. In Yerevan too both the community heads and the mayor are elected.

Arshak Sadoyan invited attention on the chapter about referendum. ”Not only the constitutional amendments but also the issues of national importance must be put to referendum”, said Sadoyan. The President, the Government and the Constitutional Court can take the initiative of organizing such referendums. In case of collecting 250 thousand signatures the referendum can be organized by civil initiative.

By the way, Arshak Sadoyan warned that if the above mentioned point is not stipulated in the Constitution, he will have to “wash our dirty linen in Europe”. “The Armenian nation must decide himself whether, for example, to give the nuclear power station to Chubays or not”, commented the delegate.

Delegate Mekhak Mkhitaryan asked Sadoyan why he was not against when the present division of regions was being admitted, as he was in the Supreme Council Local Governing Bodies Committee. Arshak Sadoyan said that in any case everyone must feel guilt for it, including himself. But at those times Levon Ter-Petrosyan wanted to make the regional governors appointed.