What Do MPs Spend Their Money On? FIP

National Assembly deputies receive an additional 250,000 AMD each month alongside their salary, intended to cover current expenses arising during parliamentary activities. This amount is not subject to taxation.

The process is regulated by amendments made on July 15, 2021, to the Law on the Remuneration of Persons Holding State Positions. The law has been subject to extensive discussion and criticism both before and after it came into force, with members of the 'Armenia' faction declaring that they would not spend the money and would appeal to the Constitutional Court to contest the law's constitutionality.

Months after the law’s adoption, the Fact-Checking Platform (FIP) submitted a written inquiry to National Assembly deputies, requesting information on how they spent the allocated funds in the past three months, what activities necessitated the use of the monthly 250,000 AMD.

However, only 8 out of the 106 deputies responded to our inquiry. Six deputies from the ruling 'Civil Contract' faction responded to FIP's questions.

Deputy Sergey Bagratyan mentioned in his response that in March 2022, he visited three regions and was in eight settlements, in April he visited three regions, being in seven settlements, and in May he was in three regions, visiting 8 settlements.

Deputy Zarouhi Batoyan reported that she received 750,000 AMD for her parliamentary activities over the last three months, of which 470,000 AMD went toward transportation expenses, paying for the services of a driver and a vehicle equipped with a ramp. According to her response, she participated in working meetings, discussions, and events. She made one regional visit to Kotayk province to participate in an inter-agency final discussion regarding a draft law on 'Volunteer Activities and Volunteering'.

Deputies Vladimir Vardanyan and Alkhaz Ghazaryan provided general statements referencing the rules of procedure of the National Assembly in their responses. Khachatur Sukiasyan noted in his response that since September, he has been transferring his monthly allocation, intended for covering expenses incurred during parliamentary activities, to the Soldiers’ Insurance Fund.

According to Vahé Ghalumyan's response, he directed the compensation amount he received towards costs associated with his parliamentary activities. Ghalumyan spent the money on regional visits, travel expenses, accommodation, per diem, organizing meetings, and other purposes. He consistently visits the communities of Noyemberyan, Berd, Ijevan, and Dilijan in the Tavush region, has been to the Alaverdi, Shnagh, and Odzun villages in Lori province, and various settlements in Gegharkunik, Ararat, and Kotayk regions. In Shirak province, he held a field session of the commission, examining problems within the sectors assigned to the commission.

As noted, out of the 71 deputies in the 'Civil Contract' faction, only 6 responded to the inquiry, representing a mere 8.45% of the faction.

Moreover, two of them did not actually answer the questions, failing to disclose what parliamentary activities they had undertaken and how much money they spent during those activities, thereby effectively not being accountable to the public.

FIP received two responses from the 'Armenia' faction, one of which merely indicated that a comprehensive response would be sent on behalf of the faction. It is noted that this comprehensive response was again general, making it impossible to evaluate the deputies' activities on an individual basis. The response stated that the deputies visited all regions of Armenia and various administrative districts of Yerevan, meeting with hundreds of citizens.

Regarding the financial resources allocated for parliamentary activities, the faction stated that deputies used these funds for accommodation during regional visits and organizing necessary expenses like fuel and other current expenditures.

As previously mentioned, the faction had stated that they wouldn't spend the funds allocated for parliamentary activities and had approached the Constitutional Court to contest the law’s constitutionality. However, it is now generally evident from their response that the 250,000 AMD allocated for parliamentary activities are already being utilized.

It is also mentioned that no deputy from the 'I have Honor' faction responded to the inquiry.