RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan assured that during the meetings it was recorded that the parliamentary factions leave the issue related to the change of the electoral system before the early elections to the parliamentary majority and the discretion of the authorities. According to Armenpress, Pashinyan said this during the question-and-answer session with government members in the National Assembly, responding to the question of independent deputy Sergey Bagratyan as to whether the Prime Minister is inclined to hold the elections under the current Electoral Code or the amended Code.
The Prime Minister first reminded that the elections are to take place within the framework of the political agreements reached. They were reached through discussions with the President of the Republic, the head of the Prosperous Armenia faction, the head of the Bright Armenia faction, My Step, as well as with extra-parliamentary forces.
As for the Electoral Code, Pashinyan said: “The electoral system of the Electoral Code was not part of the agreements, but in all discussions I have asked our partners, including parliamentary ones, what their opinion is regarding the electoral system — that is, whether the rating (open proportional) system should be or not. During our conversations we have recorded that both the Prosperous Armenia faction and the Bright Armenia faction leave this issue to the discretion of the parliamentary majority, that is, they have no problem whether the rating system is or not.”
According to Pashinyan, afterwards the parliamentary majority, having discussions with extra-parliamentary forces and representatives of civil society, and also taking into account the commitment it had previously undertaken, decided that it should go for simple changes to the Electoral Code, and the elections should be held under the proportional electoral system — that is, without the rating system.
“The electoral system is not part of the agreements, but during the meetings it was recorded that the parliamentary factions do not oppose the change of the electoral system. It was said that we will not vote in favour, because we do not want to share political responsibility with you; if you want to change it, change it, we have no problem, we will at least not express opposition to it,” said Pashinyan.
