Re: Presidential elections 2008 in Armenia
ArmeniaNow reporter, By Gayane Mkrtchyan
Armenia’s internal political life is gradually going through changes in the run-up to February presidential election. According to political analysts, these developments were only one-color before ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s bid. It is his joining the fray that caused activity in politics and this activity was followed by the polarization of the political field, which was confirmed by politicians in their statements this week.
“Despite the fact that today international political processes are in a two-pole field, soon it can become multi-polar, changing the black-and-white coloring of Armenia’s domestic politics,” says Spartak Seyranyan, a spokesman for the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF, Dashnaktsutyun) Supreme Body in Armenia. Political analyst Yervand xxxoyan thinks that two main poles have been formed – the government’s pole is Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and the opposition pole is former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan. Dashnaktsutyun has formed a small government pole.
“Even among the authorities there is not that consolidation and it participates with two poles – one big and one small. The opposition, in its turn, has decided to contest elections separately and several poles were formed around those persons,” the political analyst says. What is the reason for the failure to form a coalition? Why didn’t well-known opposition leaders respond to the first president’s call and form one united front?
“It is not always that any kind of opposition can unite. There are cases when from left to right all forces consolidate, however Armenia is not at that point yet,” xxxoyan says. Orinats Yerkir party leader Artur Baghdasaryan stated during his party’s congress this week the reasons why they did not join Ter-Petrosyan.
“Not only because we don’t consider the country to be a gangster state (as Ter-Petrosyan has characterized current status). But appreciating the same Ter-Petrosyan’s contribution to the establishment of our statehood, we are against his approach of dismantling the system of state power completely,” Baghdasaryan said. “Good or bad, we have built a country that is sovereign today and in many capital cities in the world there is our tricolor as a symbol of our sovereignty.”
During the 17th congress of his party, National-Democratic Union leader Vazgen Manukyan leveled harsh criticism at the former authorities, which excluded the idea of their forming a united front. “1998 was conditioned by 1996, October 27 [parliamentary killings] was conditioned by 1998, the elections of 2003 and 2007 were conditioned by October 27,” Manukyan said.
First secretary of the Armenian Communist Party’s Central Committee Ruben Tovmasyan stated that the Communist Party would not participate in the next elections since in the last 17 years no election passed in Armenia without wholesale riggings of the results. They won’t participate in the election campaign where there is no ideological struggle and won’t declare support for any candidate. Instead, this week the initiative group of the “Legitimate President-2008” movement stated that it supports the first president. Member of the initiative group of the movement, leader of the Homeland and Honor party Garnik Margaryan urges all candidates who occupy government posts to resign. According to him, it is a precondition for free and fair elections. Margaryan’s call targeted mainly Serzh Sargsyan.
“We will demand and will force him to step down in order for equal conditions to elect, to be elected and to become president to be created in the country according to what the Constitution requires,” he says. xxxoyan explains that by letter of the law it is obligatory that during the elections proper an official should not use administrative resources in campaigning.
“The prime minister must resign from his post. But if we take into account the rules of the game in Armenia, then during 17 years no such rule was applied in our country. This is our reality,” he says. Another pole in favor of the government has appeared in the political field this week. The small National Rebirth party led by former Yerevan mayor Albert Bazeyan followed the example of former Karabakh defense minister Samvel Babayan’s Dashink party to complete a merger with the Ramkavar-Azatakan Party of Armenia. Bazeyan, who was among radical opposition not so long ago, today has switched to a pro-government force that will – yet unofficially – support Serzh Sargsyan.
“I want to state once again that we are on the right path. If we continue to act like this, as a separate political party, without having opportunities to participate either in parliamentary or presidential elections, we could not see our programs realized and realize our dream to bring a new national rebirth to the Armenian people,” Bazeyan declared. Samvel Babayan, whose Dashink party dissolved itself about two weeks ago, found it impossible to reunite around the first president.
“If we were in the different poles in 1997 and could not come to agreement in the Karabakh issue, if tomorrow I stand next to Levon Ter-Petrosyan who states that he hasn’t changed his views, how will you look at me?.. It will be a betrayal of the idea,” Babayan says.
Source: http://armenianow.com/?action=viewAr...7&IID=&lng=eng
Decision 2008: Ter-Petrosyan entry polarizes already-weak opposition
ArmeniaNow reporter, By Gayane Mkrtchyan
Armenia’s internal political life is gradually going through changes in the run-up to February presidential election. According to political analysts, these developments were only one-color before ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s bid. It is his joining the fray that caused activity in politics and this activity was followed by the polarization of the political field, which was confirmed by politicians in their statements this week.
“Despite the fact that today international political processes are in a two-pole field, soon it can become multi-polar, changing the black-and-white coloring of Armenia’s domestic politics,” says Spartak Seyranyan, a spokesman for the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF, Dashnaktsutyun) Supreme Body in Armenia. Political analyst Yervand xxxoyan thinks that two main poles have been formed – the government’s pole is Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and the opposition pole is former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan. Dashnaktsutyun has formed a small government pole.
“Even among the authorities there is not that consolidation and it participates with two poles – one big and one small. The opposition, in its turn, has decided to contest elections separately and several poles were formed around those persons,” the political analyst says. What is the reason for the failure to form a coalition? Why didn’t well-known opposition leaders respond to the first president’s call and form one united front?
“It is not always that any kind of opposition can unite. There are cases when from left to right all forces consolidate, however Armenia is not at that point yet,” xxxoyan says. Orinats Yerkir party leader Artur Baghdasaryan stated during his party’s congress this week the reasons why they did not join Ter-Petrosyan.
“Not only because we don’t consider the country to be a gangster state (as Ter-Petrosyan has characterized current status). But appreciating the same Ter-Petrosyan’s contribution to the establishment of our statehood, we are against his approach of dismantling the system of state power completely,” Baghdasaryan said. “Good or bad, we have built a country that is sovereign today and in many capital cities in the world there is our tricolor as a symbol of our sovereignty.”
During the 17th congress of his party, National-Democratic Union leader Vazgen Manukyan leveled harsh criticism at the former authorities, which excluded the idea of their forming a united front. “1998 was conditioned by 1996, October 27 [parliamentary killings] was conditioned by 1998, the elections of 2003 and 2007 were conditioned by October 27,” Manukyan said.
First secretary of the Armenian Communist Party’s Central Committee Ruben Tovmasyan stated that the Communist Party would not participate in the next elections since in the last 17 years no election passed in Armenia without wholesale riggings of the results. They won’t participate in the election campaign where there is no ideological struggle and won’t declare support for any candidate. Instead, this week the initiative group of the “Legitimate President-2008” movement stated that it supports the first president. Member of the initiative group of the movement, leader of the Homeland and Honor party Garnik Margaryan urges all candidates who occupy government posts to resign. According to him, it is a precondition for free and fair elections. Margaryan’s call targeted mainly Serzh Sargsyan.
“We will demand and will force him to step down in order for equal conditions to elect, to be elected and to become president to be created in the country according to what the Constitution requires,” he says. xxxoyan explains that by letter of the law it is obligatory that during the elections proper an official should not use administrative resources in campaigning.
“The prime minister must resign from his post. But if we take into account the rules of the game in Armenia, then during 17 years no such rule was applied in our country. This is our reality,” he says. Another pole in favor of the government has appeared in the political field this week. The small National Rebirth party led by former Yerevan mayor Albert Bazeyan followed the example of former Karabakh defense minister Samvel Babayan’s Dashink party to complete a merger with the Ramkavar-Azatakan Party of Armenia. Bazeyan, who was among radical opposition not so long ago, today has switched to a pro-government force that will – yet unofficially – support Serzh Sargsyan.
“I want to state once again that we are on the right path. If we continue to act like this, as a separate political party, without having opportunities to participate either in parliamentary or presidential elections, we could not see our programs realized and realize our dream to bring a new national rebirth to the Armenian people,” Bazeyan declared. Samvel Babayan, whose Dashink party dissolved itself about two weeks ago, found it impossible to reunite around the first president.
“If we were in the different poles in 1997 and could not come to agreement in the Karabakh issue, if tomorrow I stand next to Levon Ter-Petrosyan who states that he hasn’t changed his views, how will you look at me?.. It will be a betrayal of the idea,” Babayan says.
Source: http://armenianow.com/?action=viewAr...7&IID=&lng=eng
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