We have already informed that the Special Investigation Service (SIS) of Armenia has submitted the application of Ruben Torosyan, the head of the Center for Parliamentarism in Armenia, to Samvel Nikoyan, the Speaker of the National Assembly. Let us remind that this is about several MPs’ voting in their colleagues’ stead, “pushing someone else’s button.”
Aravot asked Larisa Alaverdyan, the National Assembly Heritage faction secretary, to comment on this incident, which had already made her irritated. She said, “Applying to SIS, Ruben Torosyan wanted to make the issue legal. If the SIS submits it to Nikoyan, they change the sphere by that; they want to use administrative mechanisms. If someone asks what Nikoyan will answer, then his answer was quite obvious during that false voting, because I saw MPs who voted instead of others sitting in the back, whereas from Nikoyan’s seat everyone could be seen. Therefore, I reject the working style of the SIS and I don’t expect any positive outcome from Nikoyan. Nikoyan will not care, it will be forgotten. And only Mr. Babloyan’s apology will remain that he made thanks to his upbringing. However, the issue here is more serious – videos have already shown that 6 votes were rigged – it means that all bills passed on February 9 cannot be perceived legitimately passed, since 69 and 70 votes, tops, were registered with the whole fraud and when we subtract 6, it turns out that there was no quorum. Why do I say at least 6 and not 7? Because I examined the minutes and saw that in the place, where someone else voted on behalf of Karen Avagyan, it is not written that Karen Avagyan was absent, which is true, since he was in Brussels, it is written ‘hasn’t voted,’ whereas a woman MP voted on his behalf. It turns out that there was the second fraud, they falsified the minutes too.”
In response to our question what she thought, whether anything would change after the fuss regarding the latest case, whether MPs would be more discreet or they would follow the tradition of voting instead of their absent friends, Ms. Alaverdyan said, “It will depend on mass media representatives, to whom I am thankful and I think that only thanks to the activity of that part of the civil society, we can witness fair voting at least in the National Assembly.”
Generally, the Heritage faction secretary is rather angry with Samvel Nikoyan, “Samvel Nikoyan creates new ways of arbitrariness. Let me make a new example; yesterday a delegation from the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia left for Artsakh, they went to participate in the conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic independence. The Heritage Party was not even informed to be able to join that delegation. It is a manifestation of arbitrariness, a violation of all rules, I don’t know what Mr. Nikoyan wants to prove by that, but it is obvious that he provides a bad service to his own leadership.”
