Armenian Economist Links Hikes in Consumer Prices to Upcoming Parliamentary Elections

Zhoghovurd newspaper writes that food prices have begun to rapidly rise in Armenia, which, according to economist and opposition Armenian National Congress party member Vahagn Khachatryan, is linked to the forthcoming parliamentary elections.

The consumer goods that have gone up in price include bananas, sugar, gasoline, and chocolate, which are all products imported to Armenia by MP candidates of the ruling Republican Party, the paper notes. “In other words, the authorities have begun collecting the money they intend to spend on pre-election bribes; meanwhile, in the past, it was the other way round – they would hand out the bribes on the election day, and the prices would start going up in the following days. It is not ruled out that the inflation will continue in the future, depending on the volume and size of the bribes.”

Speaking to Zhoghovurd, economist Vahagn Khachatryan said the inflation was uncalled for and from an economic point of view, there were no justifiable causes for price rises; “This is yet another monopolistic and arrogant move by suppliers that is so typical of our market.”

These price hikes, according to the economist, prove that the ruling authorities do not care about the voice of the people votes or the citizens’ attitude towards the government, because one way or another, the authorities are going to buy the votes.