You are Digging Your Political Grave: Marukyan

Dear people, by giving your name, this is yet another misstep from this rostrum, as the ruling political majority adopts the Electoral Code without the acceptance of opposition forces; by doing so, it puts the upcoming parliamentary snap elections under suspicion starting today. I officially declare that the legitimacy of the parliamentary elections is under question if the rules of the game are changed. This was stated by Edmon Marukyan in Parliament.

The leader of the Bright Armenia party announced that citizens have been deprived of the right to elect the President of Armenia, the Mayor of Yerevan, and mayors of Gyumri and Vanadzor, and now they are being deprived of the right to vote for MPs: “They say, people, when we let you choose, you choose criminals and the mafia; let us decide the lists. In other words, does the people choose criminals? By the way, 44 of you were elected by the proportional system; who among you is a criminal?”

Marukyan stated that today’s proportional system is embedded within the majoritarian system, and elections are taking place under a proportional electoral system. “People come and say that the majoritarian system was an evil. The electoral system has not been the evil; it has been the distribution of money that is the evil. What difference does it make what money is distributed for? At least you should be able to identify the problem correctly. If you are in power, do not allow such practices to exist.”

“There is no consensus among any of the opposition forces. You have deceived the Venice Commission by sending a different project; you are discussing a different project here. With the Electoral Code you have adopted, you will try to dig your political grave; this will be your end because the force that adopts a constitution or Electoral Code for itself has cut off its head,” he added, stating that they will return to the people their rights to elect both the President and the MPs, as well as the mayors.