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VOTE 2012: OPPOSITION COULD UNITE OVER ELECTION CODE REFORM
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow
16.01.12 | 13:29
Last week saw meetings between the leaders of Armenian opposition
forces that, while realizing that getting seats in parliament is less
likely for them without a combined effort, still have been unable to
find common ground for cooperation.
A campaign for amending the Electoral Code to allow the transition from
the current mixed to an all-proportional electoral system may become
the platform for such cooperation. The parliamentary factions of the
opposition Heritage and ARF Dashnaktsutyun parties have introduced
a relevant bill in parliament.
RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported that on Friday deputy head of the
Heritage party Ruben Hakobyan and member of the party's faction in
parliament Armen Martirosyan met with the head of the board of the
Free Democrats party Khachatur Kokobelyan and member of the party's
board Ararat Zurabyan. (Free Democrats is an opposition party set up
last year by some of the former supporters of the main opposition
Armenian National Congress (ANC), including Armenia's ex-foreign
minister Alexander Arzumanyan. The party also plans to contest the
parliamentary elections in May this year).
Also, there was a meeting with senior ANC representatives, said
Martirosyan, who added that those meetings were purely of a working
nature and the topic for discussions was the initiative to switch to
a 100-percent proportional electoral system.
Armenian media speculate that even if the ruling Republican Party of
Armenia and its junior coalition partner, Prosperous Armenia, decide
to block the amendments, the joint opposition campaign around this
issue may help them overcome their long-standing strife.
Opposition parties ANC and ARF Dashnaktsutyun practically exclude
dialogue between themselves because of the events that happened 18
years ago when the former ruling Armenian National Movement party
(that now makes the core of the ANC), under the leadership of then
President Levon Ter-Petrosyan (who now leads the ANC) cracked down on
the Dashnaks, with many of the party members sent to jail. They were
freed only after the change of leadership in Armenia when Ter-Petrosyan
resigned and Robert Kocharyan came to power in 1998.
Since then the ARF has been loyal to Kocharyan and irreconcilable
with Ter-Petrosyan.
It is unlikely that these contradictions will be overcome. The Heritage
party has repeatedly tried to undertake the mission for reconciling
the foes. Its leader Raffi Hovannisian, who served as independent
Armenia's first foreign minister in 1992, has repeatedly pronounced
for concerted action despite differences. But his calls have so far
fallen on deaf ears.
Meanwhile, some form of unity in the opposition may change the
political lineup in the country. Heritage's Martirosyan hinted that
the Friday negotiations resulted in "approximate, rough agreements".
He said a political forum with the participation of the forces that
supported the initiative of Heritage and ARF was planned. The ANC
was among the forces that backed the initiative in question.
Martirosyan is far from expecting the emergence of an opposition
bloc as a result of current discussions, but he sees an opportunity
for an alliance in terms of cooperation. Representatives of other
opposition parties also mostly rule out the establishment of a single
electoral bloc.
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow
16.01.12 | 13:29
Last week saw meetings between the leaders of Armenian opposition
forces that, while realizing that getting seats in parliament is less
likely for them without a combined effort, still have been unable to
find common ground for cooperation.
A campaign for amending the Electoral Code to allow the transition from
the current mixed to an all-proportional electoral system may become
the platform for such cooperation. The parliamentary factions of the
opposition Heritage and ARF Dashnaktsutyun parties have introduced
a relevant bill in parliament.
RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported that on Friday deputy head of the
Heritage party Ruben Hakobyan and member of the party's faction in
parliament Armen Martirosyan met with the head of the board of the
Free Democrats party Khachatur Kokobelyan and member of the party's
board Ararat Zurabyan. (Free Democrats is an opposition party set up
last year by some of the former supporters of the main opposition
Armenian National Congress (ANC), including Armenia's ex-foreign
minister Alexander Arzumanyan. The party also plans to contest the
parliamentary elections in May this year).
Also, there was a meeting with senior ANC representatives, said
Martirosyan, who added that those meetings were purely of a working
nature and the topic for discussions was the initiative to switch to
a 100-percent proportional electoral system.
Armenian media speculate that even if the ruling Republican Party of
Armenia and its junior coalition partner, Prosperous Armenia, decide
to block the amendments, the joint opposition campaign around this
issue may help them overcome their long-standing strife.
Opposition parties ANC and ARF Dashnaktsutyun practically exclude
dialogue between themselves because of the events that happened 18
years ago when the former ruling Armenian National Movement party
(that now makes the core of the ANC), under the leadership of then
President Levon Ter-Petrosyan (who now leads the ANC) cracked down on
the Dashnaks, with many of the party members sent to jail. They were
freed only after the change of leadership in Armenia when Ter-Petrosyan
resigned and Robert Kocharyan came to power in 1998.
Since then the ARF has been loyal to Kocharyan and irreconcilable
with Ter-Petrosyan.
It is unlikely that these contradictions will be overcome. The Heritage
party has repeatedly tried to undertake the mission for reconciling
the foes. Its leader Raffi Hovannisian, who served as independent
Armenia's first foreign minister in 1992, has repeatedly pronounced
for concerted action despite differences. But his calls have so far
fallen on deaf ears.
Meanwhile, some form of unity in the opposition may change the
political lineup in the country. Heritage's Martirosyan hinted that
the Friday negotiations resulted in "approximate, rough agreements".
He said a political forum with the participation of the forces that
supported the initiative of Heritage and ARF was planned. The ANC
was among the forces that backed the initiative in question.
Martirosyan is far from expecting the emergence of an opposition
bloc as a result of current discussions, but he sees an opportunity
for an alliance in terms of cooperation. Representatives of other
opposition parties also mostly rule out the establishment of a single
electoral bloc.