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The Armenian National Assembly is holding an extra-ordinary sitting  to debate legislative amendments to the Electoral Code ahead of the snap parliamentary elections that will take place on June 20. 

The draft bill on making Amendments and Addenda to the Electoral Code is debated in the first reading, while the second reading can be organised after 24 hours of the first debate. The legislative changes propose switching to the proportional system, removing the current mixed system that allowed lawmakers to be elected via a combination between the proportional and the so-called rating-based system.

The main reporter, lawmaker from the ruling "My Step" faction Vahagn Hovakimyan informed that the current Electoral Code has been under criticism since its adoption and there is a public demand to change it. 

"The snap parianetary elections slated for June 20 are aimed to overcome the ongoing political crisis. The electoral process should be organised in a way that would satisfy all interested parties. I want to stress that there has been a wide consensus among political forces to hold elections with party  proportional lists," said Hovakimyan. 

Other legislative changes concern the conduct of elections with due consideration of the quarantine regulations. As the main reported said, many countries around the world reconsider their legislation due to the Covid-19 pandemic and revisit approaches for holding elections.