Armenia promises to reform electoral system by end of 2010

According to a timetable submitted to the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Armenian authorities have taken on responsibility of making reforms to the country’s electoral system by the end of this year in order to make it possible to be prepared for the next elections from 2011.

Davit Harutyunyan, head of the PACE Armenian delegation, has told Radio Liberty that the first steps will have already been taken before the PACE April session.

Referring to other reforms included in the timetable, Harutyunyan said: “The concept of appealing police actions and those of other law enforcement bodies, in general, has already been presented to the Council of Europe for discussion, and we hope we will soon, within a month, receive an expert opinion on the concept, after which will start the legislative work. I’m referring to the new law on freedom to gather [for rallies] but we will present the timetable of this law before the [PACE] April session.”

PACE co-rapporteur Georges Colombier has has also asked Armenian officials for a timetable on reforms to the judicial system.

The proposals on the reforms made by the Armenian National Congress and Heritage Party faction were not discussed, though according to Harutyunyan, they will further be considered in the framework of the presented proposals.

It’s expected that after the first steps on the declared reforms have been taken, supposing in April, PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia Georges Colombier and John Prescott will visit Armenian and discuss the “roadmap” to implementing those reforms.


/Tert.am/