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VOTE 2013: PAP REFUSAL TO FORM COALITION SIGNALS APPROACHING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow
25.05.12
Serzh Sargsyan, Gagik Tsarukyan (c), Robert Khocharyan
A week before the new Armenian parliament is due to convene for
its first session (May 31) an answer has been provided to the main
post-election question - whether there will again be a governing
coalition in Armenia.
Gagik Tsarukyan, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party that got
37 seats in the 131-member National Assembly as a result of the May 6
vote, refused to form a coalition with the Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA) that got an absolute majority in the legislature. He motivated
the refusal by the fact that even though his party did receive nearly
half a million in the elections it still did not have a constitutional
capacity to form a government and implement its economic program.
The statement still does not provide an answer to what seems to be
a more important question now - whether the PAP's refusal to form a
coalitional government is connected with the refusal of Tsarukyan to
back RPA leader and incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan's reelection
bid in 2013. The thing is that representatives of the RPA have
repeatedly stated that a new coalition can be formed only along the
lines of consent of the constituent parties regarding the programs
and the candidate for future presidency. Now that the plans for a
new coalition have fallen flat the assumption is that the PAP does
not agree to support Sargsyan's reelection plans.
Experts and politicians have different perspectives on the PAP's
refusal to remain allied with the RPA. For instance, senior member
of the opposition Heritage party Stepan Safaryan thinks that the
PAP's move changes little, as this force has always served and will
continue to serve the establishment. According to Safaryan, during the
elections, the PAP made a small drift towards the opposition field to
attract some of the opposition electorate. He did not rule out that
it will also enable the party to field its own candidate at the 2013
presidential election. Still, Safaryan thinks the PAP candidate will
rather be a puppet to split the opposition vote.
"After all, I don't think that in a country like Armenia big business
is capable of drifting away from the government," said Safaryan.
MP from the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutyun) Hrayr Karapetyan believes that now two scenarios of
future developments are possible, with one in which the PAP extends its
support to Sargsyan from outside the coalition and the other in which
the PAP withholds such backing. But whatever it is, the PAP's position
will certainly influence the positions of other political forces, he
said, apparently referring to the position of Dashnaktsutyun as well.
As to who can become the PAP's candidate at the February 2013
presidential elections, experts name ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs
Vartan Oskanian, who joined the PAP about two months before the
elections, but more importantly - the name of the second president
of Armenia Robert Kocharyan is being given more and more frequently
in this regard.
According to media reports, Kocharyan has been in Moscow in the past
several days and has been trying to meet with his old colleague and
friend, Vladimir Putin. Many experts believe that if President Putin
voices support for Kocharyan, Sargsyan's second term in office will
be imperiled.
Armen Badalyan, a specialist in political and electoral technologies,
also believes that the PAP's fielding its own candidate for the
2013 presidential election will be jeopardized for the RPA. "The
question is what attitude external forces will assume towards the
PAP candidate. It is not excluded that the attitude will be normal,
which will become a serious problem for the RPA," he says.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow
25.05.12
Serzh Sargsyan, Gagik Tsarukyan (c), Robert Khocharyan
A week before the new Armenian parliament is due to convene for
its first session (May 31) an answer has been provided to the main
post-election question - whether there will again be a governing
coalition in Armenia.
Gagik Tsarukyan, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party that got
37 seats in the 131-member National Assembly as a result of the May 6
vote, refused to form a coalition with the Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA) that got an absolute majority in the legislature. He motivated
the refusal by the fact that even though his party did receive nearly
half a million in the elections it still did not have a constitutional
capacity to form a government and implement its economic program.
The statement still does not provide an answer to what seems to be
a more important question now - whether the PAP's refusal to form a
coalitional government is connected with the refusal of Tsarukyan to
back RPA leader and incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan's reelection
bid in 2013. The thing is that representatives of the RPA have
repeatedly stated that a new coalition can be formed only along the
lines of consent of the constituent parties regarding the programs
and the candidate for future presidency. Now that the plans for a
new coalition have fallen flat the assumption is that the PAP does
not agree to support Sargsyan's reelection plans.
Experts and politicians have different perspectives on the PAP's
refusal to remain allied with the RPA. For instance, senior member
of the opposition Heritage party Stepan Safaryan thinks that the
PAP's move changes little, as this force has always served and will
continue to serve the establishment. According to Safaryan, during the
elections, the PAP made a small drift towards the opposition field to
attract some of the opposition electorate. He did not rule out that
it will also enable the party to field its own candidate at the 2013
presidential election. Still, Safaryan thinks the PAP candidate will
rather be a puppet to split the opposition vote.
"After all, I don't think that in a country like Armenia big business
is capable of drifting away from the government," said Safaryan.
MP from the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutyun) Hrayr Karapetyan believes that now two scenarios of
future developments are possible, with one in which the PAP extends its
support to Sargsyan from outside the coalition and the other in which
the PAP withholds such backing. But whatever it is, the PAP's position
will certainly influence the positions of other political forces, he
said, apparently referring to the position of Dashnaktsutyun as well.
As to who can become the PAP's candidate at the February 2013
presidential elections, experts name ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs
Vartan Oskanian, who joined the PAP about two months before the
elections, but more importantly - the name of the second president
of Armenia Robert Kocharyan is being given more and more frequently
in this regard.
According to media reports, Kocharyan has been in Moscow in the past
several days and has been trying to meet with his old colleague and
friend, Vladimir Putin. Many experts believe that if President Putin
voices support for Kocharyan, Sargsyan's second term in office will
be imperiled.
Armen Badalyan, a specialist in political and electoral technologies,
also believes that the PAP's fielding its own candidate for the
2013 presidential election will be jeopardized for the RPA. "The
question is what attitude external forces will assume towards the
PAP candidate. It is not excluded that the attitude will be normal,
which will become a serious problem for the RPA," he says.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress