Epress.am News from Armenia
The top 20 names in the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) list of parliamentary candidates will remain unchanged while the rest, 230 names, are still up for debate, said vice chair Razmik Zohrabyan, speaking to reporters in the capital today and adding that candidates from various disciplines are represented in the party list.
“The National Assembly is the face of Armenia — for inside and outside [the country]. Therefore, not only attorneys and economists, but also artistic people have to be there. Those deputies who are now actively working will again get into parliament,” he said.
To a journalist’s comment that on the list are individuals with a “bad reputation,” such as former Yerevan mayor Gagik Beglaryan who was sacked in 2010 for beating a presidential staffer (pictured, left) and General Manvel Grigoryan (pictured, right), Zohrabyan said he sees no problem in giving these men a shot at getting into parliament.
“We all know Beglaryan’s story; at the end of the day, he understood his mistake and resigned. Manvel Grigoryan is a war hero — look at him this way. I don’t see a problem,” he said.
On reports of several HHK figures (particularly Vazgen Karakhanyan) being discontent with finding themselves at the bottom of the party’s list, Zohrabyan said that the news on this subject reported by local dailies Hraparak and Chorrord Inqnishkhanutyun is exaggerated.
“Karakhanyan has his worthy place in HHK and in Armenian history — it’s not as if he’s not valued. As I said, not all those on the list will make it to parliament. Based on our calculations, we’ll get so many votes that Vazgen Karakhanyan will also get into parliament,” he said.
Finally, weighing in on the speeches of Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) leader Gagik Tsarukyan and new BHK member Vartan Oskanian at the recent BHK congress, Zohrabyan said those aspects of their speeches that were reportedly “opposition” in nature are signs of self-criticism and should not be considered to be directed at the Republican Party of Armenia since BHK too is part of the ruling coalition.