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PROSPEROUS ARMENIA JOINS ARF, HERITAGE IN CALL FOR ELECTORAL REFORM
asbarez
Thursday, January 26th, 2012
The joint letter submitted to parliament leadership
YEREVAN-The parliamentary faction of Prosperous Armenia, a partner
in the coalition government, on Thursday joined the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation and the Heritage Party in calling for a
100-percent proportional electoral system, a change proposed by the
latter two parties last month.
In a written application, the three parliamentary factions, appealed
to the Parliament Speaker and the Chairman of the State and Legal
Affairs Standing Committee of the Parliament.
In a joint announcement in December the ARF Supreme Council of Armenia
and the Heritage Party Executive Committee proposed the removal of
the single-seat constituency component for parliamentary elections
and adopting a 100-percent proportional representation system.
The current law distributes 90 of the 131 parliament seats on the
proportional (party) system, while the remaining 40 parliament members
are elected through single-seat constituency.
The two parties said the joint announcement was the culmination of
collaboration between the two parliamentary opposition forces on
election reform that started in 2008.
The two parties said they proposed the change after assessing the
importance of the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for May
2012 and the need to expand the political parties' responsibility in
the elections process.
The two parties insisted that the extension of the proportional
representation to the entire parliament will create safeguards against
voter fraud. The two parties also argued that in a proportional system
voter intimidation and vote buying would be curtailed, contending
that currently the majority of the single-mandate seats are held by
wealthy pro-government individuals.
The statement said that if the government accepts this demand then
it will demonstrate that it is serious in its pledge to ensure proper
electoral conduct, as it has voiced on numerous occasions.
Soon after the joint declaration, ARF leader Armen Rustamyan said the
ball was in the government's court, explaining that the authorities
stand to benefit if the current system remains.
He added that the single-seat mandate is the government's way of
isolating the opposition from the parliament and gives the authorities
an uneven advantage in the electoral process.
A rejection by the authorities of the opposition proposal, Rustamyan
said, would demonstrate that the current leadership does not want
reform and would like to ensure its continued hold on the country
through voter manipulation.
He explained that a government rejection would isolate the authorities
from the rest of the country.
The two parties called on forces within and outside of parliament to
support this initiative.
At the time, the Armenian National Congress welcomed the effort calling
it an "important and necessary step toward ensuring the legitimacy
and transparency of the elections."
Last week, ARF parliament member Artsvik Minasyan said that there were
constitutional obstacles to reforming the electoral system in Armenia,
explaining that Armenia's Constitution did not have provisions on
either proportional or single-seat constituency election systems.
asbarez
Thursday, January 26th, 2012
The joint letter submitted to parliament leadership
YEREVAN-The parliamentary faction of Prosperous Armenia, a partner
in the coalition government, on Thursday joined the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation and the Heritage Party in calling for a
100-percent proportional electoral system, a change proposed by the
latter two parties last month.
In a written application, the three parliamentary factions, appealed
to the Parliament Speaker and the Chairman of the State and Legal
Affairs Standing Committee of the Parliament.
In a joint announcement in December the ARF Supreme Council of Armenia
and the Heritage Party Executive Committee proposed the removal of
the single-seat constituency component for parliamentary elections
and adopting a 100-percent proportional representation system.
The current law distributes 90 of the 131 parliament seats on the
proportional (party) system, while the remaining 40 parliament members
are elected through single-seat constituency.
The two parties said the joint announcement was the culmination of
collaboration between the two parliamentary opposition forces on
election reform that started in 2008.
The two parties said they proposed the change after assessing the
importance of the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for May
2012 and the need to expand the political parties' responsibility in
the elections process.
The two parties insisted that the extension of the proportional
representation to the entire parliament will create safeguards against
voter fraud. The two parties also argued that in a proportional system
voter intimidation and vote buying would be curtailed, contending
that currently the majority of the single-mandate seats are held by
wealthy pro-government individuals.
The statement said that if the government accepts this demand then
it will demonstrate that it is serious in its pledge to ensure proper
electoral conduct, as it has voiced on numerous occasions.
Soon after the joint declaration, ARF leader Armen Rustamyan said the
ball was in the government's court, explaining that the authorities
stand to benefit if the current system remains.
He added that the single-seat mandate is the government's way of
isolating the opposition from the parliament and gives the authorities
an uneven advantage in the electoral process.
A rejection by the authorities of the opposition proposal, Rustamyan
said, would demonstrate that the current leadership does not want
reform and would like to ensure its continued hold on the country
through voter manipulation.
He explained that a government rejection would isolate the authorities
from the rest of the country.
The two parties called on forces within and outside of parliament to
support this initiative.
At the time, the Armenian National Congress welcomed the effort calling
it an "important and necessary step toward ensuring the legitimacy
and transparency of the elections."
Last week, ARF parliament member Artsvik Minasyan said that there were
constitutional obstacles to reforming the electoral system in Armenia,
explaining that Armenia's Constitution did not have provisions on
either proportional or single-seat constituency election systems.