One of the goals of the revolution in Armenia was the organization of extraordinary parliamentary elections. As far as I understand, the initial idea was to submit such a program to the parliament by the government after the Prime Minister election, which would fail through a political consensus and thereby establish legitimate grounds for dissolving the parliament and holding extraordinary elections. Before that, the Electoral Code and the Law on Parties were to be changed. There seems to be no talk about failing the government program in a “predetermined way” today. It seems not to be beneficial to the new government, which is just starting to master the levers of state. It is especially non-advantageous for the Republican majority, which, has no chances to get a mandate in the parliamentary elections to be held in the coming months.
Under such conditions, if extraordinary elections are held, those will take place within a year. For the forces that have won the revolution, it is not a good option: revolutionary euphoria will fade, problems that seem to be solved within a few days will remain, voters, who will “vote by heart” today, will “vote by the mind” tomorrow. Moreover, so far there is no confidence those vote buying mechanisms will not work: it will, of course, be forbidden for the “enemy” Republicans, but it might be allowed for the “friend” “Prosperous Armenia”. However, postponement of extraordinary elections can also be useful, as it may be possible to hold constitutional amendments during that period, and improve not only the above-mentioned laws but also the relations between the President-Prime-National Assembly, making the system truly Parliamentary, instead of Prime-ministerial.
Besides, a new opposition may appear within a year. So far, only the Republican Party is an opposition, whose reputation is too low, and any, even fair criticism, will meet the argument: “you were robbing the country”. But since today’s government has a large reserve of legitimacy, I hope, it will contribute to the freedom of speech, freedom of political activity, which will inevitably lead to the formation of a strong opposition.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
