Artsvik Minasyan: Pashinyan's statements constitute yet another attempt to establish dictatorship in Armenia
Armenian opposition MPs have applied to the Constitutional Court to challenge the legality of the community enlargement bill signed into law by the president, ARF member Artsvik Minasyan, the secretary of the opposition Armenia parliamentary faction, told a news briefing in the National Assembly on Friday, noting that all MPs from two opposition factions have joined the appeal.
"We regret that once again the president of Armenia failed to act within his powers stipulated by the Constitution and signed, according to our assessment, this obviously unconstitutional law," Minasyan said.
According to the opposition lawmaker, the enlargement of the communities is politically motivated, with the ruling Civil Contract party seeking to install its members as heads of all communities.
“This intention suggests that this man does not back down from his illegal conduct,” Minasyan said, referring to Nikol Pashinyan’s statements on the enlargement of communities at Thursday’s cabinet meeting.
The lawmaker also condemned Pashinyan’s statements on the Covid-19 vaccination at the cabinet meeting.
"He demanded that the Prosecutor's Office and investigative agencies report back to him. This is nothing more than abuse of office in legal terms, an alleged crime,” he said.
“According to the Constitution, the executive branch cannot demand reports, arrests and detentions from the prosecutor general and investigative bodies. We are dealing with yet another legal arbitrariness and, worst of all, another attempt to establish a dictatorship," Minasyan said.