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At December 4 extraordinary sitting of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs, the bill on Making Addendum to the on Remuneration of Persons Holding State Positions and State Service Positions was debated in the second reading.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mnatsakan Safaryan reminded that the adoption of the initiative is conditioned by the necessity to review the amount of the bonus paid to diplomats for diplomatic rank.

The RA Minister of Justice Srbuhi Galyan presented the revised version of the legislative package designing amendments and addenda in the RA Electoral Code and in a number of enclosed laws.

She voiced the proposals that were submitted by the NA factions, MPs, and the Government during the period between the first and second readings. It was noted that the amendments related to the organization of elections during martial law and states of emergency have been removed from the package. As the rapporteur informed, they will be debated in a separate package later. “We have not rejected the regulations, but have postponed their debate so that we can find better solutions,” Srbuhi Galyan underscored. It was noted that the regulations regarding checking the statute of the party when registering candidates have also been removed from the initiative, as, according to the Minister, there is a risk of burdening the process, as a result of which, candidates could also suffer, missing the deadlines set for them as a result of checking the statute.

According to the rapporteur, in order to promote women’s involvement and to ensure their equal participation in the decision-making process, it is proposed to establish that if candidates of the underrepresented gender refuse mandates and there is no longer a representative of that gender on the list, the corresponding mandates remain vacant, rather than being filled by representatives of the other gender. It is proposed to clarify that only a citizen of the Republic of Armenia can be an authorized representative of a candidate’s party and a member of a precinct committee. “It is also proposed to provide that the party may receive donations and membership fees at its choice, but only through accounts opened in one bank, information about which must be submitted to the Corruption Prevention Commission (CPC). Parties must periodically receive from the bank the information that individuals have provided to the bank when making payments, including information on the amount of the transferred amount,” Srbuhi Galyan and added that the purpose of the amendments is to give an opportunity to the parties and the CPC to effectively control the cases of exceeding the upper limits of donations, and to return excess funds to the recipients, while protecting political parties from violations and abuses.

It was noted that based on the consensus proposals of the ruling faction and the opposition, the limits for various methods of party financing have been revised. For example, the threshold for donations to parties by one individual per year is proposed to be increased from 2.5 million AMD to 10 million AMD. For example, the threshold for donations to political parties by an individual per year is proposed to be increased from 2.5 million AMD to 10 million AMD. Moreover, within the framework of the general threshold, an individual can make donations to all political parties. The annual income limit for a party is proposed to be set at 1 billion drams instead of 500 million AMD. “This threshold will not apply during elections, as under the amendments, contributions to pre-election funds will be made through the party now,” the rapporteur detailed.

Regarding state funding for political parties, it is proposed to increase the total funding threshold from 60 percent to 80 percent, and in the case of targeted funding, set 10 percent for women’s involvement, and the other 10 percent for territorial structures.

The initiative also specified the powers of the Central Electoral Commission’s supervisory and audit service.

It is designed that the package will enter into force from April 1, 2025. The regulations on distributing the function of financial control of political parties between the Corruption Prevention Commission and the Central Electoral Commission are proposed to come into force on January 1, 2025.

Technical amendments were also made. Two bills were removed from the package.

The Minister answered the deputies’ questions.

Touching upon the proposals presented by the Armenia Faction, which the Government had not accepted, Srbuhi Galyan noted that they were considered expedient by the Executive.

The co-rapporteur, deputy Arpine Davoyan noted that work debates and parliamentary hearings were held on the initiative, but there is no unified position on some issues. The deputy urged her colleagues to vote for the package.

The debated initiatives were endorsed.