Public procurement by one business entity casts a shadow over all statements and actions in connection with the anti-corruption policy of the authorities, said the project manager of the anti-corruption center Transparency International Varuzhan Oktanyan.

According to him, as a result of the changes in April-May last year, serious prerequisites arose for overcoming the situation in which Armenia is. 

“We are talking about systemic corruption. The current authorities have political will as one of the important elements in the fight against systemic corruption, in contrast to the previous authorities, whose intentions were limited to the adoption of legal acts. In the anti-corruption fight strategy initiated by the authorities, the amount to be spent on this was noted, while in the past it was not even clear how much money was planned to be spent,” he said.

A representative of a Western NGO added that the effectiveness of the fight against corruption is closely linked to economic reforms and the implementation of social policies, given the importance of combating poverty. 

“Ensuring the independence of the judiciary remains a serious factor in the fight against systemic corruption. We need to wait for the completion of those processes that have unfolded, and to understand whether independence from the executive branch will be ensured or not,” he said.