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The Underdogs: Armenia's 2013 presidential race to include obscure figures
Vote 2013 | 12.12.12 | 12:50
By Siranuysh Gevorgyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Replacing the Constitution with an 18th-century set of laws, reuniting
historically Armenian lands, signing a military pact with Iran,
building the life of the nation on the examples of an epic folktale,
are only few of the ideas floated by new presidential hopefuls in
Armenia as the country prepares to elect its head of state next
February.
The men holding such views, however, are obscure figures likely to
stage underdog runs that will never threaten the top dogs of the race,
including incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan.
While the nation's pundits are looking for answers to lingering
questions about the possible lineup of the presidential ballot, a
number of little-known figures have already published their election
manifestos.
One of the likely obscure candidates is Vardan Sedrakyan whose `There
is God Above' posters have been a usual sight in Yerevan streets for
months. (On the posters the man does not say he intends to become a
presidential candidate, otherwise it would have been treated as a
violation of the Election Code).
Sedrakyan, who is a specialist in Armenian epic studies, has declared
the heroic epic of the Daredevils of Sassoun (an Armenian folktale
telling about the legendary deeds of strongmen in a warrior community
in the Armenian highlands passed down from generation to generation by
word of mouth) as his election program. Sedrakyan actively
communicates with the media, and has accounts on online social
networking sites. He says if elected he will unite the current
Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhijevan, Georgia's Armenian-populated
province of Javakhk and the de-facto independent Nagorno Karabakh
Republic with surrounding liberated territories to Armenia, and will
sign a military alliance with the neighboring Islamic Republic of
Iran. The scholar believes `81 percent of the people' will vote for
him. He doesn't reveal reasons for his optimism or basis for such a
precise estimation.
Another would-be candidate has also revealed a non-standard election
program. Journalist, historian, educator, freedom fighter Martik
Sargsyan said on Tuesday that he wants to replace the current Armenian
Constitution with the set of `Armenian House' laws described in `Snare
of Glory' work by 18th-century Indian-Armenian figure Shahamir
Shahamiryan, which is believed to be the first-ever program of a
constitutional republic for the then stateless Armenian people, with
the `Armenian House' being a democratically elected body.
`Secondly, I will turn the National Assembly into a bicameral body and
will take businessmen to this chamber. Thirdly, I will turn
nationalism into a paramount priority and will strengthen this
country,' stated Sargsyan (no relation to the incumbent president).
Coordinator of the Essence of Time socialist movement Robert Aharonyan
has also announced his intention to run for president in the February
18 election. He said that if elected he is going to create a USSR-2.
This candidate said he was going to prove on a socialist ideology
model that there is a real opposition in Armenia, which will build
socialism. Aharonyan wants the institution of the president to be
abolished and recreate Councils (Soviets). In his words, he has a
strong team behind him, and if journalists `provide the right
coverage' of his campaign, he will win quite a large number of votes.
Interestingly, the veteran `underdog' candidates, who participated and
usually ingloriously gathered less than one percent of the public vote
in previous presidential elections, do not seem to be in a rush to
contest the election this time around. For example, National
Self-Determination Union chairman Paruyr Hayrikyan is still `at the
stage of making a decision', but he does not exclude that he may
support the incumbent President Sargsyan or a candidate of the
Prosperous Armenia Party. People's Party Chairman Tigran Karapetyan
said he is disappointed and thinks there was no justice in Armenia,
consequently he has no reason to run for president again. Of the
veteran `one percent guys' only the Marxist Party leader David
Hakobyan has so far not excluded the possibility of his contesting the
number one political post in the next election.
Many experts believe that nominations of people little known to the
public in presidential elections is part of a `political technology',
which could help `steal' some of the votes of the main opposition or
the government candidates. Still, Director of the Armenian Center for
PR Development Hayk Kirakosyan says that the world and Armenian
history knows examples when even underdogs could come off as `dark
horses' despite opinions of the media and sociologists.
`Of course, there are many examples in Armenia or abroad when a
candidate is nominated or is funded by the authorities, opposition,
oligarchs, etc. But it also does not prevent the occasional emergence
of candidates that are not controlled by others. Even today we have
`figurehead' candidates who provide the background or distract
people's attention. Though, such artificial politicians usually manage
to `steal' a very insignificant number of votes,' says the expert.
Referring to the candidate who bases his campaign on an epic,
Kirakosyan said that it is not rare for politicians to build their
activities on specific works or sacred books.
`I find it quite appropriate that a political program be based not on
the plans to raise a pension by 3,000 drams (about $7.5), but on a
large-scale problem, for example, the restoration of justice,' he
said.
http://armenianow.com/vote_2013/41900/armenia_presidential_election_candidates
Vote 2013 | 12.12.12 | 12:50
By Siranuysh Gevorgyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Replacing the Constitution with an 18th-century set of laws, reuniting
historically Armenian lands, signing a military pact with Iran,
building the life of the nation on the examples of an epic folktale,
are only few of the ideas floated by new presidential hopefuls in
Armenia as the country prepares to elect its head of state next
February.
The men holding such views, however, are obscure figures likely to
stage underdog runs that will never threaten the top dogs of the race,
including incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan.
While the nation's pundits are looking for answers to lingering
questions about the possible lineup of the presidential ballot, a
number of little-known figures have already published their election
manifestos.
One of the likely obscure candidates is Vardan Sedrakyan whose `There
is God Above' posters have been a usual sight in Yerevan streets for
months. (On the posters the man does not say he intends to become a
presidential candidate, otherwise it would have been treated as a
violation of the Election Code).
Sedrakyan, who is a specialist in Armenian epic studies, has declared
the heroic epic of the Daredevils of Sassoun (an Armenian folktale
telling about the legendary deeds of strongmen in a warrior community
in the Armenian highlands passed down from generation to generation by
word of mouth) as his election program. Sedrakyan actively
communicates with the media, and has accounts on online social
networking sites. He says if elected he will unite the current
Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhijevan, Georgia's Armenian-populated
province of Javakhk and the de-facto independent Nagorno Karabakh
Republic with surrounding liberated territories to Armenia, and will
sign a military alliance with the neighboring Islamic Republic of
Iran. The scholar believes `81 percent of the people' will vote for
him. He doesn't reveal reasons for his optimism or basis for such a
precise estimation.
Another would-be candidate has also revealed a non-standard election
program. Journalist, historian, educator, freedom fighter Martik
Sargsyan said on Tuesday that he wants to replace the current Armenian
Constitution with the set of `Armenian House' laws described in `Snare
of Glory' work by 18th-century Indian-Armenian figure Shahamir
Shahamiryan, which is believed to be the first-ever program of a
constitutional republic for the then stateless Armenian people, with
the `Armenian House' being a democratically elected body.
`Secondly, I will turn the National Assembly into a bicameral body and
will take businessmen to this chamber. Thirdly, I will turn
nationalism into a paramount priority and will strengthen this
country,' stated Sargsyan (no relation to the incumbent president).
Coordinator of the Essence of Time socialist movement Robert Aharonyan
has also announced his intention to run for president in the February
18 election. He said that if elected he is going to create a USSR-2.
This candidate said he was going to prove on a socialist ideology
model that there is a real opposition in Armenia, which will build
socialism. Aharonyan wants the institution of the president to be
abolished and recreate Councils (Soviets). In his words, he has a
strong team behind him, and if journalists `provide the right
coverage' of his campaign, he will win quite a large number of votes.
Interestingly, the veteran `underdog' candidates, who participated and
usually ingloriously gathered less than one percent of the public vote
in previous presidential elections, do not seem to be in a rush to
contest the election this time around. For example, National
Self-Determination Union chairman Paruyr Hayrikyan is still `at the
stage of making a decision', but he does not exclude that he may
support the incumbent President Sargsyan or a candidate of the
Prosperous Armenia Party. People's Party Chairman Tigran Karapetyan
said he is disappointed and thinks there was no justice in Armenia,
consequently he has no reason to run for president again. Of the
veteran `one percent guys' only the Marxist Party leader David
Hakobyan has so far not excluded the possibility of his contesting the
number one political post in the next election.
Many experts believe that nominations of people little known to the
public in presidential elections is part of a `political technology',
which could help `steal' some of the votes of the main opposition or
the government candidates. Still, Director of the Armenian Center for
PR Development Hayk Kirakosyan says that the world and Armenian
history knows examples when even underdogs could come off as `dark
horses' despite opinions of the media and sociologists.
`Of course, there are many examples in Armenia or abroad when a
candidate is nominated or is funded by the authorities, opposition,
oligarchs, etc. But it also does not prevent the occasional emergence
of candidates that are not controlled by others. Even today we have
`figurehead' candidates who provide the background or distract
people's attention. Though, such artificial politicians usually manage
to `steal' a very insignificant number of votes,' says the expert.
Referring to the candidate who bases his campaign on an epic,
Kirakosyan said that it is not rare for politicians to build their
activities on specific works or sacred books.
`I find it quite appropriate that a political program be based not on
the plans to raise a pension by 3,000 drams (about $7.5), but on a
large-scale problem, for example, the restoration of justice,' he
said.
http://armenianow.com/vote_2013/41900/armenia_presidential_election_candidates