CEC Chairman Learned About Snap Elections from the Press: ‘Hayrapet’

It appears that the Central Electoral Commission is unaware of both the code under which we will conduct elections and the date of the elections. The body responsible for organizing elections finds out about all this from the media.

We asked CEC Chairman Tigran Mukuchyan, "Was the decision on snap elections and the Prime Minister's statement a surprise for you?" He responded, "Snap or regular elections are appointed by presidential decree. As soon as it is appointed, our functions will commence anew."

This implies that the Prime Minister has violated some protocol by announcing the elections. "I mentioned the legal basis for appointing elections: it is the decree of the President of the Republic. Once the decree is issued, we will calculate the timelines from that day and establish a schedule," he added.

We also asked the CEC Chairman whether the Prime Minister has discussed the date of the elections with him. "Such questions have not been discussed with the Central Electoral Commission." In other words, you learned about the snap elections from the Prime Minister's Facebook announcement as well? "I became familiar with that announcement just like others did," Mukuchyan stated.