Another scandal in Armenian Parliament

• Tuesday, March 19, 15:24

Pre-election crime is a crime similar to murder, Nikol Pashinyan, Armenian parliamentarian from oppositional Armenian National Congress, said in the parliament, Tuesday.  He said that new elections will be held in May and CEC of Armenia will inevitably publish fake results, on the example of the fake presidential and parliamentary elections.

"It is not a declarative statement. Chairman of CEC Tigran Mukuchyan personally falsified the election result and the report on the result of the presidential election of 2013. In particular, charitable actions were not reflected in the document as they allegedly had no impact on the election result," Pashinyan said. There is a video record proving that fact and there are witnesses, but the CEC refused to study those facts. In addition, he said, the Mukuchyan's statement
that electoral registers were allegedly ideal is doubtful. He said that yet in April 2012 he declared that the electoral registers comprise up to 20,000-30,000 people who are not citizens of Armenia. He asked Mukuchyan whether those persons were removed from the electoral registers, if anyone was punished for that.

In response, Mukuchyan said that statements on violations imply an application to the country, which is part of a legal state. In the meanwhile, both the decisions of the Constitutional Court and other regulatory acts allow the CEC to declare that the elections were held at a proper level.  In response Pashinyan recalled that Mukuchyan's report contained nothing about "registration of over 100 people, non-citizens of Armenia, in a single flat.' As regards the decisions
of the Constitutional Court, Pashinyan said that the Court is still to prove its respect for the public. Pashinyan invited the CEC chairman to TV debates.   

The Parliament of Armenia has completed discussions on the CEC's report on the presidential election of 2013 and the initiatives on amendments to the effective legislations.

According to the official data of the Central Electoral Commission, the incumbent President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan won the Feb 18 presidential election, having obtained 861,373 votes (58.64%). His main opponent, Raffi Hovannisian, obtained 539,693 votes (36.74%).  Since Feb 20 Hovannisian has been holding rallies in Yerevan and regions of Armenia to protest against the election results.  To note, Raffi Hovannisian started his hunger strike on March 10 and is going to continue it until President Serzh Sargsyan's swearing-in ceremony scheduled for April 9.