Government Clarification on the Draft Constitutional Law Amending the Law on the Proportional Representation System

In light of the public discussions surrounding the legislative package approved by the Government of the Republic of Armenia during its meeting on March 11, 2021, the Government informs that the drafts were elaborated, circulated, and presented for discussions to the Cabinet between August and September 2020.

Furthermore, they were included in the agenda of the sessions of the Ministerial Committee on Financial and Economic Affairs on September 22, 2020, and January 26, 2021, and were discussed with the involvement of all concerned parties. In this context, attempts to link the initiative to any ongoing political processes in the Republic of Armenia, as well as to qualify it as a manifestation of the Government's attitude towards certain officials and/or institutions and their activities, are completely devoid of substance.

Considering the content of the legislative initiative, we find it necessary to state that the proposed revisions to the laws are not related to the expenditure ceiling set forth in the 2021 state budget and do not affect the expenditure programs planned for future state budgets. The revision of regulations through the nine proposed drafts does not lead to and cannot lead to a reduction in budgetary expenditures in the mentioned areas, nor does it aim, even indirectly, to pre-determine the amounts of future expenditures.

On the contrary, it is proposed to eliminate regulations that may create the impression of pre-determining the amounts of budgetary allocations for future years and, at the same time, to shift the decision-making process for clear equivalently appropriate decisions merely into the realm of unnecessary legal interpretations.

We are confident that the comments regarding the legislative revisions appearing in public platforms are a result of insufficient information and/or inadequate professional capacities in the field of budgetary relations, as attempts to link the Government’s initiative for such systematic and long-term changes to current and certainly short-term political processes or individuals are doomed to failure. This clarification will eliminate widespread misconceptions and concerns among consumers.

The Government of the Republic of Armenia has also presented clarifications from the Ministry of Finance.