New Armenian Electoral Code Passed in Third Reading

Armenia's National Assembly passed in the third and final reading on Wednesday a new Electoral Code drafted by the Armenian government; the parliamentary forces approved the bill by 102 votes to 17, with 3 abstentions. 

During a pre-vote discussion, leader of the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) faction Levon Zurabyan insisted that the revised draft code did not address any of the issues raised by the society and the political forces related to the implementation of the OSCE/ODIHR proposals. “Therefore, we will vote against its adoption, in the hope that [the government and the opposition] will continue to work towards achieving consensus on the Code,” the MP said.

Hrant Bagratyan, another lawmaker from ANC, stressed that the government did not take into account a number of crucial issues put forward by ANC. “You'll later regret offending the opposition,” he added.