Top three parties are HHK, BHK and HAK
Armenia's National Assembly of the 4th Convocation is four years old. The NA has passed through numerous ordeals during those years: the parliament witnessed the March 1 tragic clashes, deprived MPs of their mandates and changed its speaker.
At the request of A1+, parliamentary forces today summarized their activity of the past four years.
Republican Party (HHK) Secretary Edward Sharmazanov says the parliament of the 4th convocation greatly differs from the previous ones as it holds serious debates on all questions.
"We managed to amend the Electoral Code and extend the liabilities of our opposition colleagues as a result of which they became heads of parliament committees," Sharmazanov told A1+.
With regard to the March 1 events, the Republican MP said, "We witnessed unpleasant post-election events. Besides, we have not fully surmounted the global economic crisis. However, all political forces have contributed to democratic processes in the country."
Asked whether the parliament could prevent the March 1 unrest, Sharmazanov said, "Unfortunately, elections are accompanied by clashes in Armenia and are not regarded as a political process. We should say no to intolerance."
The Republican spokesman did not hurry to predict whether the party will have as many seats in the next parliament as it has today.
"I have never made predictions," he said.
The Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) is convinced that the party will gain more seats in the parliament. BHK Secretary Aram Safaryan says the party ranks among the top three parties.
"I mean HHK, BHK and Armenian National Congress (HAK). I see only one shortcoming in the current NA: parliament should be a platform of dialogue for all political forces," said Safaryan.
Speaking about the March 1 clashes, the BHK secretary said, "I do not want to return to the tragedy as I think everyone has understood everything. I want to recall BHK's statement which calls on the key political forces to eliminate the consequences of the deadly clashes, to start a dialogue and create an atmosphere of tolerance."
Country of Law Party (OYK) says they have worked efficiently during those four years.
"We have agreed our legislative initiatives with our pre-election program and have focused on different layers of society. We highly appreciate the Law on Public Education which regulates educational laws. The second important issue for the OYK is the return of deposits, which was included in budget discussions," said the head of OYK faction Heghine Bisharyan.
"I do not consider the page of March 2008 closed. We should all join efforts to exclude the repetition of similar tragedies in the future," she added.
ARF-Dashnaktsutyun MP Ara Nshanyan thinks that the ARF-D is the most active party in the National Assembly.
"With our limited resources as an opposition party, we have presented scores of projects which are likely to be adopted by the yearend. Certainly, 16 MPs cannot influence on the results of voting but we are able to thwart some bills by boycotting the voting," he said.
Regarding the March 1 events, Nranyan said that the acting parliament has limited opportunities to disclose the tragic events.
Heritage Party MP Anahit Bakhshyan tried to be most sincere in her assessment.
"In the first two years I cursed me for engaging into politics. I thought I could have achieved better results if I continued my work at school. However, I have worked fruitfully in the last two years," she said.
The Heritage MP regrets that the parliament allowed the arrest of its members.
"The National Assembly could avert the March 1 clashes but unfortunately it did not take any preventive measure. On March 1, our MPs were to be with the public and reconcile the demonstrators and police," said Mrs. Bakhshyan.
She is convinced that the Heritage will be represented in the next parliament as "people will no longer agree to sell their votes for 5000 drams."
