Epress.am News from Armenia
The People’s Party will be running in the May 6 parliamentary elections on its own and won’t be joining any alliance, said party leader Tigran Karapetyan at a press conference in the Armenian capital today.
“We believe that becoming an alliance is an attempt at creating a coalition, which is accepted in Armenia’s world, but the ideas don’t correspond. For them, it’s not the idea that’s important but the money, the power,” he said.
Karapetyan intends to contest a parliamentary seat under the majority system. (Recall, deputies will be elected under a mixed electoral system: 90 deputies will be elected under a proportional system in a nationwide constituency and a further 41 in single-mandate constituencies under a majoritarian system.) He will be running in the no. 17 electoral district which includes Artashat and the surrounding environs. The party will convene a congress at the end of March or early April and will decide its next steps.
The People’s Party leader, however, didn’t seem too optimistic.
“The elections will occur with the same standards as in the past and those individuals and political parties who get [unwritten, unofficial] approval will make it [to parliament],” he said, adding that, nevertheless, people should actively vote in the elections.
“30% of the people aren’t in Armenia and another 30% don’t vote — for this reason, the authorities are given the opportunity to commit electoral fraud by 60%,” he added.
The likelihood of his securing a seat in the next parliament Karapetyan assessed at 3 kilos and 500 grams.
“I’m not afraid of my likely opponents [former parliamentary speaker] Hovik Abrahamyan and [former police chief] Alik Sargsyan,” he stressed.