Armenia deputy FM comments on EU envoy’s criticism of electionsJune 29, 2017 - 17:59 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia’s deputy foreign minister Shavarsh Kocharyan on Thursday, June 29 reacted to the EU ambassador’s comments about the parliamentary elections of April 2. Ambassador Piotr Switalsky said recently that the Electoral Code needs to be changed to include civil society representatives and weighed in on the efficiency of the voting system. The Republican party, in return, urged the envoy against meddling in the country’s internal issues. According to Kocharyan, Armenia should discuss proposals that are in its best interests. In response to Yelk lawmaker Mane Tandilyan’s question about whether or not civil society members should be included in the CEC, Kocharyan said that hundreds of NGOs currently work in Armenia. “Which one should be included, on what basis?” Aravot cited him as saying. The deputy foreign minister did agree, however, that the civil society must have more leverage for control. Top stories President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg. The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. Partner news | Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. Armenian Catholicos calls for national unity against threats Karekin II issued a message on Republic Day marking the anniversary of the First Armenian Republic. Opposition leader, supporters spend night at Sardarapat memorial Police made nearly 300 arrests the day before as Galstanyan and his supporters continued to demonstrate in Yerevan. Armenia designates flood-hit communities as disaster areas The emergency situation was created by floods caused by heavy rains in Armenia’s north on May 25-26. |