Friday, 21 March 2008
Today, in the Government Offices of the Republic of Armenia, four political forces signed a Political Coalition Agreement. The document was signed by the Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, the Chairman of the "Prosperous Armenia" Party Gagik Tsarukyan, the Chairman of the "Orinats Yerkir" Party Artur Baghdasaryan, and a representative of the Superior Body of the ARF Armen Rustamyan.
POLITICAL COALITION AGREEMENT
1. AIMS OF THE POLITICAL COALITION
Based on the results of the February 19, 2008 presidential elections, with the aim of safeguarding the progressive development of the Republic of Armenia and building an atmosphere of social partnership and solidarity within the public, the following parties represented in the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia elected on May 12, 2007 (hereinafter, "Members of the Political Coalition"), with the support of the President of the Republic of Armenia, hereby create a political coalition for:
- Forming effective authorities enjoying the confidence of the vast majority of society;
- Deepening democratic reforms and improving mechanisms for the protection of human rights;
- Developing and implementing a joint program of activities of the government by combining their pre-electoral programs;
- Implementing bold and realistic reforms to sustain previous years
' achievements and to considerably improve the quality of life of our citizens; and- Successfully overcoming the domestic and external challenges faced by the Republic of Armenia.
The Members of the Political Coalition assert their will and determination to achieve the aims of the Coalition and assume political responsibility for the work of the authorities.
2. PRINCIPLES OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE POLITICAL COALITION
The Members of the Political Coalition, guided by principles of mutual respect, understanding, tolerance, solidarity, and resolving discrepancies through negotiations and discussions, undertake to operate in accordance with the letter and spirit of this Agreement, and to carry out a consistent policy in cooperation with one another and the President of the Republic of Armenia.
The Members of the Political Coalition will operate on the basis of civil society engagement in the decision-making process, ensuring the transparency and publicity of the activities of state bodies, and effective mechanisms of accountability for senior state officials.
3. MAIN PROGRAM PRIORITIES OF THE POLITICAL COALITION
The main program priorities of the Political Coalition are as follows:
- To complete the harmonization of the legislation with the constitutional amendments and to develop legislation that corresponds to the European standards;
- To enroot in the legislation and the political system the constitutional safeguards of a complete system of checks and balances between the branches of power;
- To develop a fully-fledged multi-partisan system working on the basis of democratic principles and safeguarding effective political competition, and to expand and strengthen the possibilities for the activities of the parliamentary opposition;
- To provide favorable conditions for the strengthening of civil society and to implement projects promoting the activities of non-governmental organizations and associations;
- To promote the freedom of speech, and to develop and implement measures ensuring mass media independence, impartiality, and complete pluralism;
- To develop and consistently implement measures significantly improving public confidence in the electoral process, especially by consistently increasing the role of political forces;
- To introduce and apply mechanisms ensuring the efficiency of the National Security Council in the system of state power;
- To enhance the effectiveness of the public administration system, to expand civil society oversight of the system, to apply requirements based on professional and ethical merits in the appointment of officials, and to ensure the publicity and accountability of their activities;
- To complete reforms of public service by forming an honest and effective system of governance and ensuring the separation of political and economic interests;
- To achieve sustainable growth of the economy by fighting against the shadow economy, considerably increasing household income, applying more equitable mechanisms of distribution, putting in place adequate conditions for fair competition, and carrying out effective anti-monopolistic policies;
- To promote export-oriented production;
- To promote small- and medium-sized enterprises in a persistent manner;
- To develop and implement a National Plan for the Development of Agriculture;
- To complete the Earthquake Zone rehabilitation activities;
- To reduce unemployment significantly by means of state promotion of new job creation, and to continuously increase benefits and wages;
- To carry out social policies aimed at overcoming policy, including the adoption of the minimum subsistence budget as the poverty threshold;
- To enact legislation defining the specificities of local self-government and state government bodies in the City of Yerevan and to form such bodies;
- To enforce the Judicial Code with a view to bringing the system fully into line with the European standards and considerably increasing public confidence in the impartiality and independence of the judiciary;
- To fight corruption in a comprehensive and effective manner, with close engagement of civil society;
- To ensure the rule or law and public order, to preclude impunity, and to rehabilitate the moral-psychological atmosphere;
- To integrate more effectively with the international community; and
- To reinforce further ties between Armenia and the Diaspora as a ways of adequately and efficiently utilizing the nation
's potential for the benefit of the Republic of Armenia and all Armenians.4. DUTIES OF THE PARTIES THAT ARE MEMBERS OF THE POLITICAL COALITION
The Members of the Political Coalition undertake:
a) To exert all efforts to implement the Coalition Government
's program effectively;b) To ensure the implementation of the understandings reached in the frameworks of the Coalition through individuals that have a proven track record in political and discretionary positions in the authorities;
c) To refrain from any steps that can directly or indirectly undermine the achievement of the Coalition aims stated in this Agreement.
5. PROCEDURE OF ORGANIZING THE ACTIVITIES OF THE POLITICAL COALITION
Drafts of documents that have a conceptual or strategic importance must be first discussed between the Members of the Political Coalition. They shall exert all efforts to develop a common position.
At the suggestion of any Member of the Political Coalition, any matter related to the activities of the National Assembly or the Government may be discussed with a view to developing a common position.
To ensure the effectiveness of the Political Coalition, to discuss issues of mutual interest, to ensure contacts between parties, and to develop common positions, the Members of the Political Coalition shall create a Coalition Steering Council with an equal number of representatives of each Member. The Coalition Steering Council shall act through regular sessions.
6. TERM OF THE POLITICAL COALITION
This Agreement becomes effective when signed and remains in force for the term of the Republic of Armenia National Assembly of the fourth convocation. This Agreement may be terminated prematurely in case of an insurmountable fundamental disagreement, upon declaration by either Member or by consent of the Members.
Chairman of the Chairman of the Chairman of the Representative of the
Republican "Prosperous "Orinats Superior Body of the
Party of Armenia" Yerkir" ARF
Armenia Party Party
S. SARGSYAN G. TSARUKYAN A. BAGHDASARYAN A. RUSTAMYAN
