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KOCHARIAN SPEAKS AGAINST 'ALL-PROPORTIONAL' ELECTION
By Ruzanna Khachatrian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Aug. 30, 2006
President Robert Kocharian is against the 'all-proportional' system
of representation in parliament, his press secretary announced on
Wednesday, disproving a series of recent newspaper reports claiming
the opposite.
In a press briefing Viktor Soghomonian explained that the president is
against reconsidering the agreement reached by the coalition forces
regarding the distribution of proportional and majoritarian seats in
the Armenian legislature - which is currently 90 to 41.
"It would be wrong to cut a deputy off his constituency at this
stage of our democratic development," Soghomonian said, advocating
the preservation of 41 seats for deputies elected directly from
single-mandate constituencies.
Kocharian's press secretary was also asked to comment on a recent
report published in the "Iravunk" weekly, which, citing its sources,
suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin had openly spoken
against Armenia's powerful defense minister Serzh Sarkisian as
Kocharian's successor.
"I haven't discussed publications of that type with the president
for a long time, because very often they are so absurd that even do
not deserve discussing," Soghomonian said.
He said the relations between Kocharian and Sarkisian were normal and
that there was no conflict between Armenia's ruling Republican Party
and Prosperous Armenia, a newly established pro-government party led
by tycoon Gagik Tsarukian.
Speaking of international relations, Soghomonian said that Armenia
does not intend sending peacekeeping troops to Lebanon first because
of peacekeepers' unspecified mandate and secondly because of the large
presence of ethnic Armenians in Lebanon. "We don't want to create
problems for the local Armenian community in the event of clashes."
Soghomonian also didn't rule out that President Kocharian may meet
his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliev by the end of the year. "Days ago,
the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met to try to prepare
a meeting for the presidents. This meeting may take place if the
presidents have enough material to discuss."
By Ruzanna Khachatrian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Aug. 30, 2006
President Robert Kocharian is against the 'all-proportional' system
of representation in parliament, his press secretary announced on
Wednesday, disproving a series of recent newspaper reports claiming
the opposite.
In a press briefing Viktor Soghomonian explained that the president is
against reconsidering the agreement reached by the coalition forces
regarding the distribution of proportional and majoritarian seats in
the Armenian legislature - which is currently 90 to 41.
"It would be wrong to cut a deputy off his constituency at this
stage of our democratic development," Soghomonian said, advocating
the preservation of 41 seats for deputies elected directly from
single-mandate constituencies.
Kocharian's press secretary was also asked to comment on a recent
report published in the "Iravunk" weekly, which, citing its sources,
suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin had openly spoken
against Armenia's powerful defense minister Serzh Sarkisian as
Kocharian's successor.
"I haven't discussed publications of that type with the president
for a long time, because very often they are so absurd that even do
not deserve discussing," Soghomonian said.
He said the relations between Kocharian and Sarkisian were normal and
that there was no conflict between Armenia's ruling Republican Party
and Prosperous Armenia, a newly established pro-government party led
by tycoon Gagik Tsarukian.
Speaking of international relations, Soghomonian said that Armenia
does not intend sending peacekeeping troops to Lebanon first because
of peacekeepers' unspecified mandate and secondly because of the large
presence of ethnic Armenians in Lebanon. "We don't want to create
problems for the local Armenian community in the event of clashes."
Soghomonian also didn't rule out that President Kocharian may meet
his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliev by the end of the year. "Days ago,
the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met to try to prepare
a meeting for the presidents. This meeting may take place if the
presidents have enough material to discuss."