Mukuchyan on Mandated but Detained MPs

During a session of the National Assembly's Legal Affairs Committee, MP Agvan Vardanyan from the 'Armenia' faction questioned the Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) Tigran Mukuchyan regarding a new legal framework applied by the CEC concerning the immunity of parliamentary candidates. He noted that 'the MPs who received mandates from your commission have been detained and are still in custody.'

'How do you interpret this situation?' asked Vardanyan.

Tigran Mukuchyan responded that the CEC believes that the norm concerning immunity requires serious clarification and improvement. 'There has not been an opportunity to address the substantive aspect of that norm before, and the issues regarding its applicability were not so visible. Today, there are discussions about circulating a new draft related to that legal norm because the application of that norm that took place has raised numerous issues by itself. The committee believes that there is a serious need for clarification and improvement of that norm.'

Vardanyan remarked that in any case, the CEC made a decision regarding the cases of Mkhitar Zakaryan, Arush Arushanyan, Arthur Sargsyan, and Professor Armen Charchyan through voting.

'In the case of such ambiguity in this norm, such a decision in all cases... Do you personally, as the CEC Chairman, vote in favor of requests to revoke the immunity of MPs?' inquired Vardanyan.

Tigran Mukuchyan replied, 'I participated in the voting on the application regarding Armen Charchyan and voted in favor. I did not participate in the other votes due to health issues, but I ask that you never consider my absence as a reason to free me from the responsibility of those decisions, and I do not wish to avoid sharing full responsibility with my colleagues.'