YEREVAN. – Armenia is a country of law; there exist legal norms here that also regulate the domain of elections. Consequently, the conduct of presidential—moreover, parliamentary—elections is an end unto itself, ruling Republican Party National Assembly Faction Secretary Hovhannes Sahakyan noted during a press conference on Tuesday. 

“There is no system of governance in the world that would justify itself one-hundred percent. What is more, we are saying that we are ready to gradually transition from a mixed electoral system to a proportional [one], but, for this, it is indispensable that the political forces and the political system mature,” the ruling party MP stated. 

Sahakyan also informed that opposition Heritage Party Chairman, former FM Raffi Hovannisian’s proposal, according to which reforms should be carried out in Armenia’s Electoral Code, is fully acceptable for him. He added that Hovannisian—who is declared runner-up to the winner, incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan, as a result of the presidential election that was conducted on February 18, but who claims to be the real winner in the vote and who declared a hunger strike on March 10 at capital city Yerevan’s Liberty Square—did the right thing by running in the presidential election, and he has all the opportunities to unite the oppositional segment of the society.           

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am