The National Assembly of the 8th convocation differed from all the previous parliaments in its aggressiveness during the four months of its activity. The authorities have turned the legislature into a ring field and are fighting political opponents through hand-to-hand combat or other forms of martial arts. As a result, the legislative work suffers, the political forces, or rather, the ruling faction, solve one problem in the barricades of the National Assembly: how to stab the opposition, shut their mouths and not allow criticizing the authorities. The public has had several opportunities to enjoy the parliamentary battles, and let’s try to understand how they are in the legislative work by analyzing the parliamentary activities.
Unlike the previous convocation, this parliament did not get a constitutional majority in the elections, only Ishkhan Zakaryan, a member of the “I Have Honor” faction, left the faction as a result of the government’s persistent efforts, and if he decides to vote in line with the ruling CP, that majority will be secured.
Thus, the share of the parliament in the issue of adopting adopted laws has significantly decreased. If 80% of the laws passed in the parliaments of the previous convocation were authored by the government, 20% by the National Assembly, then during the 4 months of the new parliament the CP members submitted two counts of bills, and that ratio is at best 95/5. Meanwhile, the parliament of the previous convocation passed a bill to increase the amount of money for the activities of the deputies fivefold, arguing that the domestic legislators work so hard that 50,000 drams is not enough for current expenses, it is necessary to increase it to 250,000.
And there is no need to talk about the content of the CP members’ and the government’s projects, the appeal to the reality, the impression is that there has been no war in Armenia, and there are no socio-economic problems that require legislative regulation.
In total, the parliament of the 8th convocation passed 130 drafts in 4 months, including several dozen drafts related to the formation of the standing committees of the parliament, NA vice-speakers and in general, the formation of the parliamentary commission, as well as members of the Audit Chamber, CB, BDK. elections, etc.
Out of 130, only 2 legislative packages were authored by CP members on amendments to the three laws. One is the infamous project on the media, which was authored in the National Assembly of the previous convocation, co-authors: Arthur Hovhannisyan, Vahagn Hovakimyan, Sargis Khandanyan, Taguhi Ghazaryan. The first three are former journalists who have become the number one enemies of the press as MPs. The draft proposes to establish liability for the media if they spread insults and slander through an unidentified source. The second is the bill on amendments and additions to the law on the Anti-Corruption Committee, the attached package of draft laws submitted by Vahagn Hovakimyan and Vladimir Vardanyan, which was adopted in full in October.The draft proposes to increase the number of posts in the Anti-Corruption Committee from 30 instead of 20.
There are several other projects authored by CP members, which have been put into circulation, but have not entered the agenda. One of them is the bill on making an amendment to the Law on Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, which was presented by CP members Narek Zeynalyan, Lusine Badalyan, Hrachya Hakobyan, Emma Palyan, Hripsime Hunanyan. It is proposed to allow the use of drugs and psychotropic substances for scientific and educational purposes. Narek Zeynalyan and Lusine Badalyan submitted a bill on making additions and amendments to the Law on Medical Care and Services to the Population. Several projects stemming from the post-war situation have not yet been put on the agenda.
One of them was presented by MP Hayk Sargsyan with a well-known nickname. He suggests that in case a soldier dies (dies) or is declared missing, the words “husband”, “child”, “parent” should be included in the list of words “sister”, “brother”, “grandfather”, “grandmother”, as well as ․ “If the serviceman was in a de facto marriage, but did not have a state marriage registration, then the person with whom the serviceman was in a de facto marital relationship submits information confirming the fact of cohabitation to the board of trustees of the foundation and if approved by the latter is considered Beneficiary of Part 3 of this Article. In the sense of this point, information can be photos of cohabitation, the presence of biological children,The marriage certificate issued by the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, written affirmations from relatives, friends and neighbors and other evidence. ” The bill is based on the fact that “we have 16 cases where the beneficiaries mentioned in the law are absent”, so the compensation of the Soldiers’ Insurance Fund is not provided, while “in all cases the killed servicemen have sisters, brothers, grandparents”. And the author of the project offers to provide compensation to the victims’ sisters, brothers, grandparents.brothers, grandparents. ” And the author of the project offers to provide compensation to the victims’ sisters, brothers, grandparents.brothers, grandparents. ” And the author of the project offers to provide compensation to the victims’ sisters, brothers, grandparents.
Member of the Defense and Security Committee Vilen Gabrielyan submitted a bill to make an amendment to Article 138 of the NA Rules of Procedure, according to which the competent faction can nominate a candidate for the chairman of the committee once. If the Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee is not elected, the competent faction shall nominate a new candidate within 5 working days after the voting. This bill is against the opposition, in particular, the “Hayastan” bloc, whose candidate Artur Ghazinyan has been refusing to be elected deputy chairman of the commission for several months. There are 4-5 other projects on the agenda by CP members, which are related to real estate, education, etc.
It is obvious that today more than ever, the National Assembly has become the punch of the government, and it is appropriate to remember the definition of one of the deputies made after the war ․ There are only ordinary backpacks in the parliament, which are obliged to do what the “force” would order. It should be noted that only one bill was approved by the opposition factions, a commission of inquiry set up by the All-Armenian Fund to study the use of funds transferred to the state budget of Armenia. raising pensions, reducing corruption risks in the procurement system, the judiciary and other systems, most of which are not even on the agenda. Even if includedJudging by the mood of the CP majority, no project authored by the opposition will be accepted. They will either reject it or, by changing a few things, present it on their behalf to show the public that they are the author of good deeds.
Lusine Shahverdyan