National Assembly of Armenia to call extraordinary sitting on November 10

An extraordinary sitting of the Armenian parliament will be held on November 10 on the initiative of the government. Among issues on the agenda are the bills on amendments and additions to the Law on ID Cards and the Electoral Code of Armenia.

Chairman of the parliament’s standing committee on state and legal affairs Hovhannes Sahakyan said earlier at a sitting of the standing committee that over 558 thousand Armenian citizens currently may not vote during an election or a referendum because they have only ID cards (new internal passports in Armenia). A citizen’s permanent registration place is not indicated on his or her ID card. Besides, it is impossible to put a stamp on an ID card during a vote.

On October 26, on the initiative of H. Sahakyan, the issue of making amendments and additions to the Law on ID Cards and the Electoral Code was included in the agenda of four-day sittings of the National Assembly. The proposed amendments to legislation shall ensure that ID cards will be accepted as an identity document during electoral processes, and the law will stipulate that no stamp shall be put in them during a vote.