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The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) supported Robert Kocharyan at one time so it would be desirable if the former Armenian president expressed higher political opinions, the Armenian parliament speaker Galust Sahakyan said during a briefing today referring to the opinions expressed by second Armenian President Robert Kocharyan in an October 6 interview regarding the constitutional reform in the country.

When asked by reporters if he gains an impression that Robert Kocharyan is becoming an opposition figure, G. Sahakyan replied: “No, I don’t have such an impression because in order to become an oppositionist, one has to announce that at first”.

Commenting on a statement of the ex-president’s office saying that Robert Kocharyan’s run in the 2017 national elections is not ruled out, the parliamentary speaker said: “Politics is carried out in various ways, and RPA with its actions predetermined an option when a party may not be an actor in the upcoming race, but it naturally will run in the elections”.

In response to a question about the possibility of Robert Kocharyan’s reelection as Armenian president, Sahakyan said that the ex-president is not a member of RPA, while 2017 has not yet begun. “Politics sets its conditions, but at the moment I don’t think that RPA is in search of candidates. RPA has many possible candidates,” the NA speaker said.

Reporters asked Galust Sahakyan if he expected such a ‘blow’ from Robert Kocharyan. “I don’t consider it a blow or an edge of criticism that is more powerful than statements by ‘No’ front.

It is noteworthy that ‘No’ front was set up from representatives of Armenian political forces and civil society who are opposed to the constitutional reform in Armenia. Asked if Robert Kocharyan could lead ‘No’ movement, the speaker of National Assembly said: “I don’t understand what kind of movement ‘No’ front is. That front should have gotten its clear definition on the day when the draft constitutional amendments were put to the vote in the parliament. At least 55 people should have gathered to announce that they represent ‘No’ front.
The NA speaker said that Robert Kocharyan’s statement is “a text presented in a hurry, and it does not contain adequate episodes of political orientation”.

As was reported, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on August 21 sent the draft constitutional amendments to the National Assembly of Armenia. The draft was prepared by the Specialized Commission on Constitutional Reforms adjunct to Armenian President. On September 11 the draft amendments received a positive opinion of the parliament’s standing committee on state and legal affairs, followed by the draft’s debates at the autumn session of NA. On October 5 the Armenian parliament adopted the draft decision of NA about its consent to put the document to a referendum. The parliament adopted the draft decision by a majority of the votes: 104 MPs voted in favor, 10 against, with 3 abstentions. The draft was backed by the factions of Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), opposition ARF-Dashnaktsutyun, and Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP). Opposition factions ‘Heritage’ and ‘Armenian National Congress’ (ANC), and 2 MPs of the opposition faction ‘Orinats Yerkir’ voted against.