Authorities will carry out only 'cosmetic changes' in electoral reforms: Stepan Safaryan

The fact that Armenia's authorities have not yet identified the problems expected to be solved through the amendments that are planned to be introduced to Armenia's Electoral Code, creates the impression that the authorities will through those amendments limit themselves to some cosmetic changes only, the head of Heritage party's parliamentary faction Stepan Safaryan has said in an interview with local Armenian business daily Capital.

"In my speech [during the conference on electoral reforms held on Wednesday] I said that the two opposition parliamentary forces - Heritage and Dashnaktsutyun - have identified the existing problems for which they have offered some solutions. While the authorities, though having initiated some amendments to the Electoral Code, have not up to day formulated what they consider a problem against which they are fighting or they want to fight. This is one of the basic problems," he has said.

At the conference, according to Mr Safaryan, one of the experts mentioned that it is important that the authorities identify the real problems during the electoral reforms instead of trying to avoid them.

"That was direct criticism addressed to the authorities because up to day the authorities have not been able to say what problems they want to solve by initiating reforms. All this leaves the impression that once again the authorities will be satisfied with cosmetic changes only, which will not satisfy the opposition," Mr Safaryan has explained.