by David Zenian
Business as usual and partisan gridlock are often inseparable ingredients of a democracy, and this is true in Armenia today as much as in the United States.
But this also means an open season - and two-way traffic - for critics of both the government of President Levon Ter Petrossian and the country's first "democratically elected but cumbersome" Parliament.
Elected before the collapse of communism, the Armenian Parliament has since struggled hard to lay the foundations of a free and independent state. It has enacted dozens of laws, but has failed to agree on a much needed constitution - the key to breaking the deadlock between the executive and legislative branches of authority.
A motley collection of reformers, former communists, farmers, school teachers, factory managers, actors, musicians but not "professional politicians", the members of Parliament have been learning the "art of legislation" the hard way.
Absenteeism has been a major problem because out of the 250 elected members, only some 150 have taken an active interest in the nation's parliamentary process.
The rest either did not care, or, in many instances were not ready to jeopardize or sacrifice their income-generating jobs in the private or public sector in favor of their duty to only serve as the elected representatives of the nation.
But there is a flip side to any difficulty.
"Except for the communists, few Parliamentarians came in with any meaningful political experience," says one insider. "But regardless of their inexperience, they have played an essential role in the formative years of the nation," he said.
"Parliament may have been slow, and at times even ineffective or obstructive, but at least it has not been Play-Doh in the hands of the country's rulers, and in that we can say it has helped uphold the democratic process. It has played its role, and it's time for a change," he said.
The current Parliament's five year term will expire and new general elections are planned for May 1995 ... but it's not as simple as that.
First, new legislation has to be passed if the forthcoming elections are not to be held under existing laws - the revised version of the old Soviet constitution.
One key change to be enacted is the downsizing of Parliament to somewhere between 110 to 120 legislators and introducing a clause which would ban elected officials from keeping two jobs.
"Given the prevailing economic situation of the country, there is a silent wave of opposition to any legislation which would bloc a second income to Parliamentarians.
"But these changes have to be written into the new constitution before the May elections if we want to avoid a Parliament consisting of part-time legislators," one official said.
A large order ... a catch 22.
"We cannot continue to improvise as we go along. We need to define where we are and where we are going. We need a strong and solid foundation and that means a new constitution," says Ashot Voskanian, Chairman of the Parliamentary Ethics Committee.
Voskanian says the absence of a new national constitution has meant five years of constant and often futile debate, conflict, procrastination and unnecessary friction between the legislative and executive branches of government.
"Everybody's hands are somewhat tied. It seems we have similar problems ... the White House blames the U.S. Congress for gridlock, and the Presidency here in Armenia blames the Parliament," he said with a smile.
"If you ask the U.S. Congress and the Armenian Parliament, they will have a different opinion," he added.
The first attempt to put the country on a new constitutional footing was made almost immediately after Parliament was elected nearly five years ago. A special Parliamentary Committee was formed and work started to define the mechanism under which the country will be ruled.
Was it going to be a Presidential or Parliamentary form of government. Who was to have the final word ... questions which still remain unresolved despite repeated attempts and numerous blueprints presented by various Parliamentary blocs and independent - and sometimes not-so-independent - groups at home and abroad.
According to available information at least five draft constitutions have been sent to Parliament for ratification in recent years.
Each has been voted out for this or that reason, and efforts are now underway by yet another Parliamentary committee consisting of a cross-section of political trends in Parliament to prepare a mutually acceptable draft.
"Sometimes even the most unlikely partners get together to put forward a new draft proposal. We should not say Parliament has not had adequate experience and enough time to resolve this matter," Voskanian says with a smile which does not hide his bitterness at the stalemate.
While the committee members have made some headway toward a final draft, there is no guarantee that the "constitutional package" will get the essential votes once it goes to the Parliamentary floor.
But why the deadlock, and is it only because of an unruly Parliament, or the controversial nature of ultra-nationalist demands involving duel citizenship, the diaspora's right to vote , and the inclusion of the 1915 Genocide and territorial demands from Turkey in the constitution.
The "ruling" Armenian National Movement to which President Ter Petrossian and his inner circle belong, while maintaining the largest bloc of 60 active members in parliament, is still not a majority and thus unable to muster enough support to push forward its own version of the constitution and other vital legislation.
"Sixty votes are not enough to push anything through Parliament, but it's enough to produce an effective veto to bloc legislation," a member of Parliament said.
The Communists - who are out but not down - have 24 seats in Parliament, followed by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) with 16 votes and a number of home-grown alliances with 10 or less Parliamentary seats.
The Armenian Democratic Liberal (ADL-Armenia) Party had 18 seats until its fragmentation into two rival factions of 11 mainstream parliamentarians and 6 maverick members. One member died in 1994.
Factional bickerings and the inability of any Parliamentary blocs to muster a majority has contributed to the malaise.
"A coalition might be an ideal solution to the existing gridlock, but so far there are no signs that such a formula is about to emerge," another Parliamentarian said.
Faced with Parliamentary indecisiveness, at least one test balloon has gone up with a suggestion that President Ter Petrossian put his own draft constitution to a referendum.
Another approach. But what will Parliament say ..
