Former MP Wants a Seat in Parliament But Doesn’t Want to Compete with HAK

Former National Assembly deputy Aghasi Arshakyan hasn’t decided yet in which electoral district he will put forth his candidacy for the upcoming parliamentary elections. At a press conference in Yerevan today, Arshakyan said everything depends on what Armenian National Congress (HAK) representative Smbat Ayvazyan decides, as Arshakyan doesn’t want to compete with HAK in the race.

In the fight against electoral fraud, the former deputy is expecting HAK’s assistance, he said.

“The day will come… and it will be clear whether I’ll be nominated in the 7th or 8th electoral district [both are in Yerevan’s Malatia-Sebastia administrative district]. The boundaries of the 7th constituency include my and Smbat Ayvazyan’s homes and the current deputy [elected] from this area is Samvel Aleksanyan — that is, he’s my Member of Parliament and [now] I want to become his Member of Parliament,” he said.

Arshakyan mentioned that his wish to return to politics is due to a number of things he has to say that recently accumulated.

“The positions of individuals that changed over these years and the way some former official colleagues are carrying themselves forced me to return to politics. I can’t even get a hold of many of them by phone. I have to say that for 25 years I didn’t have any personal issues, [but] now every issue has become personal — starting from the president, they’re settling personal issues. It’s been a year since I’ve been unable to secure employment for my son who served in the army and graduated from Yerevan State University — shouldn’t I contact those people who I helped at one time?”

Arshakyan also admitted that the issue is personal in nature and this is one of several reasons to return to politics.

“Long-standing friends of mine say that they are the homeland’s soldier, but it turns out they’re the soldier of one person. I won’t give names, which is why I’m saying neither the good nor the bad. The attitude of my friends and colleagues who were officials toward me has changed. I’ve contacted 20 officials and no one’s listened to me. In 1993, Vova Gasparyan was my colleague and now when I call him, he doesn’t respond to my calls,” he said.