Epress.am News from Armenia
The cost of the upcoming May parliamentary elections is great. Elections, in general, are always a trial for Armenia, if not a tribulation, said association of political analysts in Armenia president Hmayak Hovhannisyan during a public hearing in Yerevan today organized by the association to discuss the matter of ensuring public control over the upcoming elections.
“If these elections essentially differentiate from the previous elections, it could open up serious possibilities for Armenia. The amount of assistance pledged by the EU if our country holds democratic elections allows us to think that we have a chance to become the outpost of European civilization in our region, if we have normal elections,” he said.
Addressing Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) deputy chair, MP and invited guest Galust Sahakyan, Hovhannisyan urged him to have fewer votes in the National Assembly.
“After the 2007 parliamentary elections, HHK had the absolute majority and there was no political neeed to create a coalition. It’s obvious that that artificial structure would have problems in the future. We hope that this time HHK shouldn’t gather so many votes so that it will later be forced to create a coalition to share responsibility with other parties,” he said.
Sahakyan countered this statement by saying the people must decide how much responsibility to give to HHK.
“I urge all parties not to use the technique of contrasts; that is, by attacking other parties canonize themselves, but rather to present their program to the people, as the HHK does,” Sahakyan said.
That the parliamentary elections will pass well, Sahakyan has no doubt.
“HHK members and he, the president [and HHK party leader], are lavishing assertions about the [better] quality of elections, but they adopt a law on state of emergency — instead of adopting a law on public control,” retorted Hovhannisyan.