Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
On December 23 the Armenian parliament ratified the agreement on selling 20% of ArmRosGazprom shares which belonged to the state to the Russian side; it provoked indignation in society and political circles. However, for the first time in a while the voting process which plays a key role in “pressing through” governmental decisions turned into a fiasco, providing a motive for the opposition's justified accusations.
MPs from the opposition factions – the Armenian National Congress, Prosperous Armenia, Heritage, and Dashnaktsutyun – accused the government of an agreement which contradicts the national interests of Armenia. They urged the parliamentary majority not to ratify the agreement, which gives exclusive rights to Gazprom. The opposition activists were perplexed by an article which says that “assignment of the assets and rights of ArmRosGazprom is provided without an initial agreement in writing from the Armenian side.” Moreover, till 2043 Armenia has no right to import gas from any other company but Gazprom; and till 2043 no law or decision can be made in Armenia that would change or violate the rights and interests of Gazprom.
The Minister of Energy Armen Movsisyan states that everything is secured by the Armenian laws, but considering the fact that there are no such articles in the document, the minister’s statements are thought to be empty promises in Armenia.
The authorities found themselves in a difficult situation. First of all, the parliamentary majority could hardly resist multi-faceted and reasonable criticism by the opposition, presenting only low gas prices as a key argument. Secondly, some deputies from the Republican Party of Armenia also have doubts about the discussed document.
During the voting 43 opposition MPs left the hall as a protest. And the well-known scheme failed. The parliamentary majority had to vote by a show of hands, as voting cards suddenly disappeared (it was found out that the cards of many government MPs were taken by the head of Heritage, Zrui Postandzhyan); and they made a procedural error. The opponents were quick to use the moment. According to the law on the order, if the electronic voting system doesn’t work, votes should be counted by an election commission. The vote counting was organized by the speaker of the parliament Ovik Abramyan. But nobody considered the fact that the same law states that decisions are made by the majority of an election commission which adopts a protocol of voting. And four out of seven members of the commission are representative of the opposition, who didn’t take part in the voting.
According to the statement by four factions, the decision on ratification of the agreement wasn’t made. The opposition intends to file a lawsuit to the Constitutional Court, which goes against the decision on ratification.
The events of December 23 were the crown of all the processes that have been happening in the country in the last 6 months, when almost any step by the government faces resistance from society or the opposition, including protests on the streets, joint demonstration and requests to the Constitutional Court. The authorities are experiencing problems fulfilling well-known schemes.
