“During the previous constitutional referendum, we were in favor of an active ‘no’, in the case when the Civil Contract and other oppositionists consider it a secondary, not an agenda issue. We have been in favor of the presidential system of government from the beginning. Today we are participating in the process of constitutional reforms carried out by the government,” said the leader of the Republic party Aram Sargsyan at the meeting with journalists, referring to the work of the constitutional reform commission.
He stressed, “In that sense, we are different from the current government, from the parliamentary opposition. The complete presidential system is the most working for our country. We lived in the semi-presidential system, we saw its shortcomings. This system of government has given rise to serious disputes, even wars. I am deeply convinced that if the legislative power can be divided into upper or internal chambers, then the executive power cannot be divided. That is why during the time of Levon Ter-Petrossian, in the case of the willful prime ministers, a serious dispute arose between Ter-Petrossian and Vazgen Manukyan and Ter-Petrossian Robert Kocharyan, which continues to this day.
The same between Robert Kocharyan and Vazgen Sargsyan. There was a shadow war between Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan.” According to Aram Sargsyan, in the semi-presidential system the executive power is divided into factions, and the president has no responsibility before the National Assembly. “The Prime Minister shares that responsibility in the National Assembly, which leads to serious disputes and conflicts. This also constantly puts the state in shock.”
Aram Sargsyan does not agree with the opinion that the parliamentary system of government is the least conflicted. “It operates only in those countries that have many years of experience in public administration. Such countries, for example, us or the United States, immediately passed to a full presidential system, which still justifies itself. In the parliamentary system, the deputies elect the head of the country, and the people want to elect a leader in the elections, therefore, they elect a team, which elects a leader, that is, the parliament turns from a legislative body into an electoral body.” Sargsyan added, “No matter how much I do not share the approaches of the opposition on the street, but the fact that they are on the street today is also a consequence of this system. Their voters did not vote to carry out legislative activity, but to go and elect the person they wanted as the leader of the state. This model of the parliamentary system, which is one-mandate, turns the process of expressing no confidence in the Prime Minister into a mockery, the Prime Minister is twice rejected, so that he later becomes the Prime Minister․․․ This leads to serious conflicts. Not to mention the periods of wars and victories, in which this system will lead to serious crises. The coalitions will not work.”
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Luiza Sukiasyan
