On July 28, the first session Government created Anti-Corruption Council will take place. But the Council has not been formed completely. According to the Government decision it should have had one representative from each opposition party of the NA and two NGO representatives (one from each NGO). However, 4 opposition parliamentary factions from the overall 5 and representatives of the non-governmental organizations refused to participate in the Anti-Corruption Council.
The ARF representative Bagrat Yesayan spoke about the continuation of the session under such conditions in the interview with Iravaban.net: “In my opinion, the participation of the opposition parties is not only preferable but also compulsory, especially in the Anti-corruption fight. The session can be considered to be legal. I am sure that it can take place, according to its statute, if the majority of the members are present; however the effectiveness will be doubtful.”
Referring to the point that the NGOs did not participate in the Council, Bagrat Yesayan mentioned that the Anti-Corruption fight consists of three components: political will, public involvement and monitoring of legislation.
“If the public does not want to participate because it has doubts about the political will then there will be problems because one component is missing, the other component is under question and the third component, no matter how perfect it is, cannot ensure success and the effectiveness of the overall fight will be low,” Bagrat Yesayan said.
Photos: Armenia Now
