From Opposition Pockets to CP’s Pockets: Why Salaries Are Being Withheld

On the occasion of Constitution Day, the President of the National Assembly has rewarded the deputies with bonuses. "Based on Article 5, Part 2, Point 12 of the Constitutional Law on the National Assembly, I decree the following. This is reported by "Haykakan Zhamanak".

"On the occasion of Constitution Day, the deputies of the National Assembly are rewarded with a one-time monetary bonus, as per the appendix," reads the official order. Naturally, there has been no appendix presented on the NA website regarding this decree, so it remains unclear which deputies are included and what amounts are in question. However, according to media reports, only the deputies of the ‘My Step’ party have received the monetary bonuses.

The parliamentary leader may have rewarded the CP deputies on Constitution Day for their obedient support of the draft proposals that distort the fundamental law, presented by the ruling party's chief constitutional expert, Vahagn Hovakimyan.

“No, we have not received any rewards; moreover, in the last two months, significant amounts have been withheld from the salaries of many of us opposition deputies,” said Agnessa Khachumyan, a member of the ‘Armenia’ faction, in an interview with the media. According to some information, the withheld amounts range from 150,000 to 300,000 drams.

In recent months, following the commencement of the resistance movement, as well as prior to that, when opposition members traveled to Artsakh but were not allowed to proceed from Berdzor, the NA leadership withheld salaries from opposition deputies under the pretext of absenteeism from sessions and votes, ignoring the fact that the opposition had declared a political boycott.

The deductions vary among deputies, depending on their committee memberships and how frequently the committee convened. Therefore, the more absences, the larger the withheld amount. “Some deputies did not even receive 200,000 drams in salary for June,” said a source.

In recent weeks, discussions have arisen in the parliament that the withheld funds from the opposition members, viewed as a cost-saving measure, have been distributed among the CP members; yesterday’s decree essentially confirmed that information. Furthermore, after a prolonged silence, CP members again recalled the opposition in yesterday's extraordinary session, diligently addressing them—perhaps in an attempt to justify the bonuses they received. For example, Ruben Rubinyan analyzed the recent actions of the opposition and concluded, “Our opposition colleagues are not in the streets now, they are not here. When asked if they will return to the NA, they say, ‘We will return with our agenda.’ Well, what is their agenda?”

He continued, “Meanwhile, their public activity has recently been limited to resignations from their posts here and, in a few cases, renouncing their mandates. Hence, one could conclude that the only agenda of the opposition in these days is a headlong escape from the NA.”

Armen Khachatryan, a member of the CP faction, also pointed out that the opposition is reputed for its fiery accusations against the government, always placing the army at the forefront of its complaints, alleging that the authorities do not want an army. “So where is the opposition to express its opinion on these packages, to ask pressing questions of the defense minister?”

Rubinyan added to this, saying, “If they were in the streets, we would say they are in the streets; but they are neither on the streets nor here. It’s a strange situation.”

CP faction member Gurgen Arsenyan also directed comments toward the opposition, stating that when it comes to homeland defense, the opposition prefers to defend the homeland in Yerevan, yet when it comes to quarterly collections, it prefers to act as ‘a half-defender’. Rubinyan used Arsenyan’s speech as an opportunity to add, “I would say not half-defender, but the fourth referee.” Meanwhile, the parliament was non-stop discussing the draft amendments to the Law on Defense.