YEREVAN. – For the Bright Armenia Party (BAP), the snap parliamentary elections must be completed by June 1. Edmon Marukyan, chairman of the opposition BAP and head of its parliamentary faction, on Monday told this to reporters in the National Assembly.

"It means that the process of dissolving the parliament must start within the next ten days. If the parliament is dissolved now, we will gladly go to that process; if not, then that topic is closed, we move on to the next topics. The date is important because the crisis is so deep that it must be resolved quickly. The date for the earliest election may be in May so that it ends on June 1. If it does not happen in the next ten days, I cannot say what will happen. The time will come, we will talk again," Marukyan noted.

He stated that his parliamentary faction was still getting familiarized with the draft Electoral Code. "We are ready to run in the elections with the old [Electoral Code], too, but we do not have a final decision on which [Electoral] Code is right," Marukyan added.

Asked when the current martial law should be lifted in Armenia, Marukyan said the martial law was a detail that should be lifted during election processes. "If we agree on all issues within eight days, it is clear that martial law must be lifted," he added.

As per Edmon Marukyan, President Armen Sarkissian believes that snap parliamentary elections should be held to resolve the internal political situation.

According to Marukyan, virtually all political forces in the country are already preparing for early elections. "There may be an opportunity for a consensus between the parliamentary forces, but the consensus must be sought outside [the parliament]. We do our best to reach that consensus. A public debate is taking place before our eyes. I am not the one conducting the dialogue on that part. I believe it is the government that has the opportunity to make concessions," Marukyan added.

According to Edmon Marukyan, the bill on reducing the funding for the Human Rights Defender and his staff is an encroachment on this institution.

Also, the leader of the BAP countered a reporter's question as to whether it is possible for them to take power in Armenia. "We [the BAP] are going for taking power. We are not running [in the expected snap parliamentary elections] to have a faction in the parliament; we [already] have a faction in the parliament."