Armenian National Assembly votes down Zharangutiun opposition faction’s no-confidence motion against government

YEREVAN, December 8. /ARKA/. On Thursday, Armenian National Assembly voted down Zharangutiun (Heritage) opposition faction’s motion implying submission of a proposal to the president to express no confidence in the government.

The motion was voted down by 48 MPs – only 13 lawmakers voted in favor of it.

Opposition legislators accused the government of inability to ensure the planned indicators and of intention to pocket part of the budget revenue for using it in the ruling party’s election campaign.

Dashnaktsutiun opposition faction supported Zharangutiun’s motion.

Armenian Finance Minister Vache Gabrielyan, on his side, said that the country’s debt was enlarged amid the global economic crisis to prevent poverty growth and social shocks.

If the government refrained from borrowing money, he said, the poverty rate would be far higher in 2009 – it would reach 51.7% instead of 34%.

“Indeed, the government enlarged the debt, but not a single country having insufficient resources would refrain from doing so amid the crisis,” the minister said. “Even European countries and the United States resorted to such a measure. Some countries have managed to withstand the crisis thanks to their own resources, but the majority couldn’t do without outside resources.”

He also said that the government remains stuck to its goals, but it just postponed achievement of these goals.

Finance Minister Vache Gabrielyan, said a day earlier, that the government remains stuck to its goals, but it just postponed achievement of these goals.

Under the Parliament’s regulation, if the opposition proposal is voted down, the faction can put the matter on the National Assembly’s floor again four months later.

On Wednesday, Dashnaktsutiun opposition faction threatened the government with no-confidence vote for its failure to put the 2008-2012 strategic program into reality.

Since the number of signatures are insufficient for filing a motion to the Constitutional Court (at least 27 signatures are needed), the faction urged the political majority to join it. -0---