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CONSPICUOUS BY ABSENCE: TER-PETROSYAN'S FAILURE TO ATTEND OPPOSITION GATHERING LINKED TO UPCOMING VOTE
VOTE 2013 | 11.12.12 | 12:27
By SIRANUYSH GEVORGYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
Former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan did not attend Monday's rally and
march staged by his Armenian National Congress (ANC) on the occasion
of International Human Rights Day - the first mass event held by the
alliance since last May's parliamentary elections - raising
speculation about lingering uncertainty in the opposition ranks.
His absence from the event traditionally held by the Armenian
opposition alliance on December 10 would not be so conspicuous except
for the upcoming presidential election in which the ANC leader has
been expected to make another bid to return to 26 Baghramyan Street.
Ter-Petrosyan, who, by the way, attended a similar event last year,
has not come up with any public statements for months now, keeping his
supporters and the broader society unaware of and guessing about his
decision regarding the ballot slated for February 18.
Under Armenian law, the stage of nominations is due to start on
December 25 and last through January 4 - a period in which the lineup
of forces in the election will become more or less clear.
Leading members of the ANC keep describing Ter-Petrosyan as the only
presidential candidate for them, insisting that they are only waiting
for his decision to second it.
Commenting on Ter-Petrosyan's failure to attend the Monday march of
his alliance and pointing out the thinness of the crowd, the Hayots
Ashkharh daily wrote today: "After all, Ter-Petrosyan would address
even smaller numbers of people. If only he had something to say... Of
course, for an orator like Ter-Petrosyan that wouldn't be a problem to
say something on Human Rights Day, but now he is expected to say much
more than that."
The pro-government paper suggests that Ter-Petrosyan cannot say "more
than that" at this moment because of being trapped in political
consultations initiated by the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) last
month and centered, as many analysts assume, around the person of
PAP's millionaire leader Gagik Tsarukyan as a possible single
opposition candidate for president in 2013.
Talking to reporters, ANC coordinator and parliamentary leader Levon
Zurabyan did not exclude that a Ter-Petrosyan-Tsarukyan meeting could
be held soon. (After Tsarukyan's criticism of the Armenian authorities
during his recent visit to Brussels most political analysts in Armenia
think that the PAP leader's nomination as a presidential candidate has
become a foregone conclusion).
Zurabyan did not present any other details of the consultations that
he said were ongoing.
At the same time, the senior ANC representative stopped short of
drawing conclusions from the reported weekend meeting between
Tsarukyan and President Serzh Sargsyan, who is expected to seek
reelection next year.
After the unconfirmed news of that meeting some analysts rushed to
conclude that the PAP leader would rethink his strategy and decide not
to join the fray.
Political and electoral technologies expert Armen Badalyan, too,
believes that Ter-Petrosyan's not attending the most recent mass event
of his alliance could be evidence that he did not have a decision yet
concerning the election. He, however, said he was far from regarding
it as a surprise or unusual occurrence.
"First it was not always that Ter-Petrosyan participated in marches.
Perhaps processions are not the right format for such statements [on
political decisions]. Of course, he knew that media would ask
questions on that, and there was no point for him to answer these
questions personally if Levon Zurabyan could do that instead,"
Badalyan told ArmeniaNow.
"Perhaps, the opposition leader's age also mattered in this. It might
be hard for him to take part in marches and walk such long distances,"
added the analyst.
But anticipating such assumptions ANC's Zurabyan had said that the
67-year-old ex-president was in "excellent" health.
ANC parliamentary faction secretary Aram Manukyan's message during the
procession was remarkable. As if justifying Ter-Petrosyan's absence,
addressing supporter he said: "Whatever Levon Ter-Petrosyan does, he
is right. We trust him and believe in his political wisdom and
foresight. We may have lost some of our supporters along the way, but
it is important that we remain committed to our idea."
VOTE 2013 | 11.12.12 | 12:27
By SIRANUYSH GEVORGYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
Former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan did not attend Monday's rally and
march staged by his Armenian National Congress (ANC) on the occasion
of International Human Rights Day - the first mass event held by the
alliance since last May's parliamentary elections - raising
speculation about lingering uncertainty in the opposition ranks.
His absence from the event traditionally held by the Armenian
opposition alliance on December 10 would not be so conspicuous except
for the upcoming presidential election in which the ANC leader has
been expected to make another bid to return to 26 Baghramyan Street.
Ter-Petrosyan, who, by the way, attended a similar event last year,
has not come up with any public statements for months now, keeping his
supporters and the broader society unaware of and guessing about his
decision regarding the ballot slated for February 18.
Under Armenian law, the stage of nominations is due to start on
December 25 and last through January 4 - a period in which the lineup
of forces in the election will become more or less clear.
Leading members of the ANC keep describing Ter-Petrosyan as the only
presidential candidate for them, insisting that they are only waiting
for his decision to second it.
Commenting on Ter-Petrosyan's failure to attend the Monday march of
his alliance and pointing out the thinness of the crowd, the Hayots
Ashkharh daily wrote today: "After all, Ter-Petrosyan would address
even smaller numbers of people. If only he had something to say... Of
course, for an orator like Ter-Petrosyan that wouldn't be a problem to
say something on Human Rights Day, but now he is expected to say much
more than that."
The pro-government paper suggests that Ter-Petrosyan cannot say "more
than that" at this moment because of being trapped in political
consultations initiated by the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) last
month and centered, as many analysts assume, around the person of
PAP's millionaire leader Gagik Tsarukyan as a possible single
opposition candidate for president in 2013.
Talking to reporters, ANC coordinator and parliamentary leader Levon
Zurabyan did not exclude that a Ter-Petrosyan-Tsarukyan meeting could
be held soon. (After Tsarukyan's criticism of the Armenian authorities
during his recent visit to Brussels most political analysts in Armenia
think that the PAP leader's nomination as a presidential candidate has
become a foregone conclusion).
Zurabyan did not present any other details of the consultations that
he said were ongoing.
At the same time, the senior ANC representative stopped short of
drawing conclusions from the reported weekend meeting between
Tsarukyan and President Serzh Sargsyan, who is expected to seek
reelection next year.
After the unconfirmed news of that meeting some analysts rushed to
conclude that the PAP leader would rethink his strategy and decide not
to join the fray.
Political and electoral technologies expert Armen Badalyan, too,
believes that Ter-Petrosyan's not attending the most recent mass event
of his alliance could be evidence that he did not have a decision yet
concerning the election. He, however, said he was far from regarding
it as a surprise or unusual occurrence.
"First it was not always that Ter-Petrosyan participated in marches.
Perhaps processions are not the right format for such statements [on
political decisions]. Of course, he knew that media would ask
questions on that, and there was no point for him to answer these
questions personally if Levon Zurabyan could do that instead,"
Badalyan told ArmeniaNow.
"Perhaps, the opposition leader's age also mattered in this. It might
be hard for him to take part in marches and walk such long distances,"
added the analyst.
But anticipating such assumptions ANC's Zurabyan had said that the
67-year-old ex-president was in "excellent" health.
ANC parliamentary faction secretary Aram Manukyan's message during the
procession was remarkable. As if justifying Ter-Petrosyan's absence,
addressing supporter he said: "Whatever Levon Ter-Petrosyan does, he
is right. We trust him and believe in his political wisdom and
foresight. We may have lost some of our supporters along the way, but
it is important that we remain committed to our idea."