The President of Armenia should be elected by direct vote, the state should compensate for the damage suffered by the Armenians of Artsakh: Drmeyan

We are here to decide the fate of our country, the future of our children, to strengthen our state. Today, on February 28, during the presentation of the program of the “Wings of Unity” political initiative, Liparit Drmeyan, a member of “Wings of Unity”, candidate of legal sciences, mentioned this in his speech.

“A state where everything will be decided by law, and not by phone call or SMS. A state where a position is not a gift, but a heavy burden, duty, responsibility, and a state where the state system serves all of us, not the ruling group.

We will build a system based on stable, clear and visible to everyone and transparent mechanisms. The fate of a citizen should not depend on the whim of a state official, on this or that decision of a bureaucrat. Public and state positions will no longer be a gift for services rendered, they will not be a means of repaying a mortgage loan, a means of ensuring one’s own well-being. A state official should be a person who has knowledge, experience, ability and, most importantly, dedication to this state.

The system of selecting state officials based on merit will be the cornerstone of our governance system. The state should be governed by the best, not the most adaptable,” he said.

Speaking about local self-government bodies, Drmeyan said: “The regions and communities of Armenia should develop proportionately, stably and independently. The emphasis should be placed on stimulating economic activity, in 4 years we will form a decentralized and development-oriented system. The enlargements of communities will not be carried out based on political expediency, as we saw in Vagharshapat. We will introduce result-based financing, where state support to the community will depend on the actual results of development. In other words, the more you work, the more you will receive.”

He also spoke about the rule of law and the judicial system. “Each official will have the right to act only with the powers that he is authorized by law. The Constitution will prevail over everyone and everything, we will exclude the use of the law enforcement system for political purposes, and the courts have no right to be independent of any government and political force.

Judges will have social and professional guarantees, they will not be captives of loans and bonuses, on which political pressure can be exerted. We will eliminate the vicious practice of subjecting judges to disciplinary liability through the government. We will increase the number of judges and judicial employees to the level that meets European standards.

Increasing the number of positions in the Public Defender's Office, increasing funding, reducing the tax burden on advocacy services. We all have the right to receive affordable and high-quality legal services.

Regarding the elections, the member of the "Wings of Unity" said: "The mechanism for forming a stable majority aims to disperse the votes of citizens. About 200 thousand votes are dispersed during the elections. We will change that system, the voice of citizens must be heard in the National Assembly. We will reduce the threshold for party passivity. We will significantly reform the state financing of parties. A citizen should have the opportunity to vote against “everyone”. The National Assembly should be a real counterweight to the government, not serve as an appendage of the government.

Who remembers the name of the President of the Republic of Armenia? The institution of a president endowed with clear powers must be restored in our country, for this the president must be elected by direct vote.

We will consistently promote the protection of the interests of the Republic of Armenia in all interstate instances, only in this way can we obtain a favorable position for our country in the foreign policy field. The protection of the rights of Artsakh Armenians will be key and ensuring their return to Artsakh will be essential. We will exclude the withdrawal of the interstate claims that have been discussed so much today. This is a red line for us. The state must compensate for the damage to the Artsakh Armenians, and we will demand compensation for this damage from Azerbaijan in the future.

The withdrawal of the claims is a direct threat to the Armenian state and Armenian interests. We can achieve that the violated rights of tens of thousands of our compatriots are restored and the damage is compensated.

The state should not depend on individuals, it should be based on institutions, on law and on merit. If we decide together that it is time to have a real legal state, that it is time to have a fair judicial system, a truly institutional state, then no one and nothing can stop us. Armenia will be a powerful country and we will build that country together.