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Sarkisian Vows 'Best' Election In Armenia's History
Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
July 24, 2006
By Ruzanna Khachatrian and Ruzanna Stepanian
Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian said next year's parliamentary
elections will be the "best" in Armenia's history as he officially
became the number two figure in the governing Republican Party (HHK)
at the weekend.
"I think that 2007 will see the best elections that have ever been held
in the republic's territory," Sarkisian said. Asked by a reporter to
explain reasons for his optimism, he replied: "Because I will strive
for that, because all the prerequisites are in place."
Sarkisian made the remarks at a news conference that followed a
one-day congress of the HHK which formalized the party's strategic
alliance with Armenia's second most powerful man who is believed to
harbor presidential ambitions.
Opposition leaders are certain to scoff at the pledge not least
because Armenian officials had given such promises in the past but
failed to honor them, with virtually every national election held in
the country since independence criticized as undemocratic by Western
observers. They regard Sarkisian as the main mastermind of serious
fraud reported during the last presidential and parliamentary elections
in 2003. The powerful minister managed President Robert Kocharian's
reelection campaign at the time.
But Sarkisian made it clear that he does not think the previous
Armenian elections were deeply flawed. "The best means better than
good," he said. "That is, things were good and will get even better.
For during every election [Western] observers concluded that it was
a step forward from the previous election. But of course there were
shortcomings."
According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
and the Council of Europe, those shortcomings were serious enough to
make the Armenian elections fall short of democratic standards.
Sarkisian is now seen as Kocharian's most likely successor, having
secured the backing of the HHK, Armenia's largest governing
party headed by Prime Minister Andranik Markarian. Some 700
delegates attending the HHK congress, among them scores of senior
government officials, unanimously elected him as the party's first
vice-chairman. He will also head the party's new 70-strong governing
council that will comprise some of the wealthy government-connected
businessmen that joined the HHK after it teamed up with Sarkisian.
Those include Karen Karapetian, the leader of the second largest
group in Armenia's current parliament, and millionaire businessman
Harutiun Pambukian.
Addressing the congress, Sarkisian portrayed the HHK as a force capable
of bringing long-term stability and prosperity to Armenia. "I will
do everything to ensure that we prevail in this struggle as well,"
he said.
"I am confident that there have emerged new opportunities to jointly
achieve our objectives," Markarian said for his part. "I am confident
that all of our party comrades are able to assist in that."
Speaking at the ensued press conference, both men were at pains to
dispel the widely held belief that Sarkisian is now the party's de
facto top leader. "I can only be considered one of the leaders of
the Republican Party," said Sarkisian.
Hasmik Navasardian, the widow of the HHK's late founder Ashot
Navasardian, hoped that this will be the case. "I hope that Andranik
Markarian will not cede his positions," she told RFE/RL. "Serzh
Sarkisian and Andranik Markarian must cooperate or risk angering God."
Sarkisian's affiliation with the HHK and the resulting influx of
more influential individuals into the party have raised fears that
the Republicans will try to achieve a landslide victory in the 2007
elections at any cost. In an interview with RFE/RL late last week,
Sarkisian implicitly denied this, saying that even garnering 25 percent
of the vote would be a "good" result for his party. He also claimed
to have not yet decided whether to contest the presidential election
due in 2008. He had indicated earlier that his decision depends on
the outcome of the parliamentary vote.
The Republican congress was also marked by the conspicuous absence
of Gagik Tsarukian, a influential tycoon close to Kocharian who
set up recently a party widely seen as a counterweight to the HHK.
Organizers said Tsarukian was invited to attend the gathering along
with other guests. His failure to show up stoked rumors that Kocharian
is not quite happy with the HHK's strengthening.
The HHK's junior coalition partner, the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), also appears to be less than enthusiastic
about the latest political developments. Spartak Seyranian, a
Dashnaktsutyun spokesman, implicitly referred to the new Republican
recruits as opportunists who frequently switch sides. "There is a
certain stratum that usually decides its [political] orientation in
advance of elections," he told RFE/RL. "I therefore don't see anything
extraordinary happening now."
Seyranian also claimed that Dashnaktsutyun is not worried that
Sarkisian might use the Armenian military for electoral purposes. "I
think that our political capacities and levers will allows us to
ensure the objectivity of any electoral process. Dashnaktsutyun has
the necessary will to do that," he said.
A senior member of former parliament speaker Artur Baghdasarian's
Orinats Yerkir party, which was squeezed out of the governing
coalition in May, said the HHK is being bolstered by government
factions keen to "reproduce themselves. "Some forces are trying to
act in new uniforms, hoping that they won't be recognized," Heghine
Bisharian said in an apparent jibe at Sarkisian and his inner circle.
"But they are badly mistaken."
"That congress had nothing to do with the Republican Party as its
sole purpose was to prolong the rule of President Kocharian and Serzh
Sarkisian," claimed Artashes Geghamian, the leader of the opposition
National Unity Party.
Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
July 24, 2006
By Ruzanna Khachatrian and Ruzanna Stepanian
Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian said next year's parliamentary
elections will be the "best" in Armenia's history as he officially
became the number two figure in the governing Republican Party (HHK)
at the weekend.
"I think that 2007 will see the best elections that have ever been held
in the republic's territory," Sarkisian said. Asked by a reporter to
explain reasons for his optimism, he replied: "Because I will strive
for that, because all the prerequisites are in place."
Sarkisian made the remarks at a news conference that followed a
one-day congress of the HHK which formalized the party's strategic
alliance with Armenia's second most powerful man who is believed to
harbor presidential ambitions.
Opposition leaders are certain to scoff at the pledge not least
because Armenian officials had given such promises in the past but
failed to honor them, with virtually every national election held in
the country since independence criticized as undemocratic by Western
observers. They regard Sarkisian as the main mastermind of serious
fraud reported during the last presidential and parliamentary elections
in 2003. The powerful minister managed President Robert Kocharian's
reelection campaign at the time.
But Sarkisian made it clear that he does not think the previous
Armenian elections were deeply flawed. "The best means better than
good," he said. "That is, things were good and will get even better.
For during every election [Western] observers concluded that it was
a step forward from the previous election. But of course there were
shortcomings."
According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
and the Council of Europe, those shortcomings were serious enough to
make the Armenian elections fall short of democratic standards.
Sarkisian is now seen as Kocharian's most likely successor, having
secured the backing of the HHK, Armenia's largest governing
party headed by Prime Minister Andranik Markarian. Some 700
delegates attending the HHK congress, among them scores of senior
government officials, unanimously elected him as the party's first
vice-chairman. He will also head the party's new 70-strong governing
council that will comprise some of the wealthy government-connected
businessmen that joined the HHK after it teamed up with Sarkisian.
Those include Karen Karapetian, the leader of the second largest
group in Armenia's current parliament, and millionaire businessman
Harutiun Pambukian.
Addressing the congress, Sarkisian portrayed the HHK as a force capable
of bringing long-term stability and prosperity to Armenia. "I will
do everything to ensure that we prevail in this struggle as well,"
he said.
"I am confident that there have emerged new opportunities to jointly
achieve our objectives," Markarian said for his part. "I am confident
that all of our party comrades are able to assist in that."
Speaking at the ensued press conference, both men were at pains to
dispel the widely held belief that Sarkisian is now the party's de
facto top leader. "I can only be considered one of the leaders of
the Republican Party," said Sarkisian.
Hasmik Navasardian, the widow of the HHK's late founder Ashot
Navasardian, hoped that this will be the case. "I hope that Andranik
Markarian will not cede his positions," she told RFE/RL. "Serzh
Sarkisian and Andranik Markarian must cooperate or risk angering God."
Sarkisian's affiliation with the HHK and the resulting influx of
more influential individuals into the party have raised fears that
the Republicans will try to achieve a landslide victory in the 2007
elections at any cost. In an interview with RFE/RL late last week,
Sarkisian implicitly denied this, saying that even garnering 25 percent
of the vote would be a "good" result for his party. He also claimed
to have not yet decided whether to contest the presidential election
due in 2008. He had indicated earlier that his decision depends on
the outcome of the parliamentary vote.
The Republican congress was also marked by the conspicuous absence
of Gagik Tsarukian, a influential tycoon close to Kocharian who
set up recently a party widely seen as a counterweight to the HHK.
Organizers said Tsarukian was invited to attend the gathering along
with other guests. His failure to show up stoked rumors that Kocharian
is not quite happy with the HHK's strengthening.
The HHK's junior coalition partner, the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), also appears to be less than enthusiastic
about the latest political developments. Spartak Seyranian, a
Dashnaktsutyun spokesman, implicitly referred to the new Republican
recruits as opportunists who frequently switch sides. "There is a
certain stratum that usually decides its [political] orientation in
advance of elections," he told RFE/RL. "I therefore don't see anything
extraordinary happening now."
Seyranian also claimed that Dashnaktsutyun is not worried that
Sarkisian might use the Armenian military for electoral purposes. "I
think that our political capacities and levers will allows us to
ensure the objectivity of any electoral process. Dashnaktsutyun has
the necessary will to do that," he said.
A senior member of former parliament speaker Artur Baghdasarian's
Orinats Yerkir party, which was squeezed out of the governing
coalition in May, said the HHK is being bolstered by government
factions keen to "reproduce themselves. "Some forces are trying to
act in new uniforms, hoping that they won't be recognized," Heghine
Bisharian said in an apparent jibe at Sarkisian and his inner circle.
"But they are badly mistaken."
"That congress had nothing to do with the Republican Party as its
sole purpose was to prolong the rule of President Kocharian and Serzh
Sarkisian," claimed Artashes Geghamian, the leader of the opposition
National Unity Party.