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Lilit Makunts: There were consultations with parliamentary and extra-parliamentary forces, civil society, specialized structures and president’s institute. So that the Electoral Code does not complicate the process of the upcoming elections and to simplify their holding, it was decided to make amendments only to the provisions on the proportional electoral system with this small bill and turn completely into simple proportional system. We also undertook necessary amendments to holding elections in condition of pandemic. It does not mean refusal from the Electoral Code: we will debate the comprehensive package in future.

Sergey Bagratyan: Now, we start the important process, there was a consensus on this issue still in 2017. The proportional closed list was necessary for our republic. All kinds of violations were due to the majoritarian electoral system. This is the most important amendment. The closed proportional is the only right option in the national elections and this is an acceptable dictate.

Gevorg Papoyan: Is the rating system a proportional electoral system? By its name - yes, by content - no. I think that now we are going in the right way. The rating system covered itself in the current political realities, and we should turn into proportional system.

Hamazasp Danielyan: At this moment, it is necessary to fix that there will not be the rating system in the scheduled parliamentary elections on 20 June 2021.

Tatevik Hayrapetyan: I am in favor of this amendment, however I would like to speak about another theme. Yesterday again publicly appeared Aliyev’s new statements on Syunik. Once again the President of Azerbaijan presented territorial pretentions towards the internationally recognized borders of Armenia. These statements are inadmissible, and we shall let our colleagues of the international organizations to know about them. I hope that these statements will be correspondingly responded not only inside Armenia, but also by our international colleagues.

Hovhannes Igityan : It is not that the candidate elected by the majoritarian system completely represents any marz, city or region. If we really want to represent the region, then the world has chosen two forms. First, the chamber that represents the region. We shall also strengthen the self-government.

Taguhi Tovmasyan: I have been elected by rating electoral system, and I shall say that, yes the rating electoral order is far from the political and ideological fight: it is inter-personal fight which often turns into conflicts. My fear is that we are getting cut from the marzes, and we’ll only have capital parliament.

Sos Avetisyan: The normal party shall make a decision that we shall have representatives from all marzes, because that is the logic of the electoral fight. The problem is not only the electoral order. It is appraisable that consensus was reached on holding elections. I hope that in case of simple proportional lists, political, realistic programmes can be, and the participants of the fight will clearly speak with the citizens. That will be the important asylum, after which the RA strengthening will begin.

Gor Gevorgian: We hardly can consolidate the society before the elections and go unitedly to elections conditioned by current realities. The people’s free will expression is unsearchable in the formation of the RA authorities. The people shall make a decision who they see as a power. In the upcoming elections it is important that our state does not lose.

Lilit Stepanyan: The Code in force not only shapes an atmosphere, where the inner democracy of the political force will live and develop, but also creates preconditions for the most different contradictions and disagreements between different members of the same team, excluding the political solidarity.

Sofia Hovsepyan: This is a partial amendment, because there is no marz quota. I have always said that marz quota shall be mandatory. It has always been said: we’ll discuss. Today, there is no issue at all. With what electoral list shall come the politicians? It is not understandable to anybody in any way.

Heriknaz Tigranyan: The proposing amendments were not a surprise for any political force. Now, we speak about removing the territorial lists. That is not the caprice of any political force, but only a goal to shape such an electoral order which corresponds with the mechanism of shaping the National Assembly through proportional electoral system.

Vladimir Vardanyan: In terms of democratic values, the proportional electoral system is very effective, because the citizen’s voice is not lost unlike the majoritarian electoral system. In reality, the rating availability or absence is not a tool of inter-party fight, but an inner-party one. Let us try to facilitate the system and move the element of the inner-party fight into inner-party field.

Vagharshak Hakobyan: The rating system is a political evil. It does not give an opportunity for the political field to be self-cleansed. It does not give an opportunity for politicians to be engaged with politics in this hall. If we want the Republic of Armenia to develop, be competitive, then the politician’s presence in this hall is one of its important guarantees.

Arman Babajanyan: We are going to the most crucial national election of the newly independent state with the Electoral Commissions served the previous criminal regimes and the most important fact – with heinous judicial system that announced war to our state, statehood and democracy. Non rating, non-proportional electoral systems are considered the problem of our country. I would like very much that the RA National Assembly will do its best that the Republic of Armenia wins in these elections.

Arpine Davoyan: In this parliament there shall be people, who in any case will be faithful to the ideology, for which they have come to this hall. I believe that in these elections we will not have such people, who will come to defend their personal interests.

Arusyak Julhakyan : The majoritarian electoral system is evil. For many years it has been about that. Yes, this electoral system “was made” for the power of the Republican Party. I urge you to vote it and express political consensus that in these elections we need political fight, but not fight for “neighbourhood authorities.”

Gevorg Gorgisyan: Let me present the version of the electoral system of the Electoral Law which proposes the Bright Armenia Party from 2016. That is an open proportional electoral system. Yes, the rating, territorial divisions give an opportunity the resource owners to use their resources, the influence that they turn it into voice. To deprive the citizens from the opportunity to elect the MP, their representative in the National Assembly, it is fraught with other bad consequences.

Nazeli Baghdasaryan: There are people, political forces who say yes, we need proportional electoral system, because it stems from democratic basis and our format of the parliamentary government. In this case the programmes and ideas become competitive. We go through this way, irrespective of the fact what the others demand. We vote for it and move through our chosen true way.

Alen Simonyan: First of all, I would like to speak about the marz involvement. Our colleagues think that the rating one is the marz representation. I don’t think so. As the times have passed, the marz medieval viceroys cannot be representatives of the marzes. They had privileges to provide the number of the votes to be from that marz.

Hayk Konjoryan: The voting process is also simplified. This amendment for main beneficiary, the people of the election means the electoral process, election campaign and voting simplification, which is commendable in the logic of the recovery of democracy and political system and speaks about the continuity of the assumed political commitment.