National Assembly adopts 2016 budget: Who voted against the package? (video)
By a vote of 97 to 12 and 3 abstentions, the National Assembly adopted the revised and amended draft budget for 2016. The parliamentary faction of the Country of Law Party (OEK), Zaruhi Postanjyan, Tevan Poghosyan and Alexander Arzumanyan from the Heritage Party, Nikol Pashinyan and Hrant Bagratyan from the Armenian National Congress (HAK), Tigran Urikhanyan (Prosperous Armenia Party-BHK) and Khachatur Kokobelyan, voted against the draft document. Before the vote, Aghvan Vardanyan, Secretary of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun, said ‘the 2016 budget was really modest.’ “I am sure there will be people who will vote for or against the bill. Anyway, we are not going to participate in the vote,” he said. Ruben Hakobyan from the Heritage Party did not participate in the vote either. BHK lawmakers Stepan Margaryan, Vahe Hovhannisyan and Elinar Vardanyan abstained from voting. There was a round of applause after the vote, with Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan thanking the legislature. Following the vote, a large part of Cabinet ministers and MPs left the hall. Earlier this week, four lawmakers of the HAK – Levon Zurabyan, Aram Manukyan, Gagik Jhangiryan and Stepan Demirtchyan – said they are boycotting the NA four-day sitting.
