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ARMENIA: IS ELECTION DATE A ROLL OF THE DICE?
February 8, 2013 - 2:20pm, by Marianna Grigoryan
With less than ten days to go before Armenia's February 18 presidential
vote, Armenians still do not know for sure when, exactly, the election
will take place.
The reason is presidential candidate Paruyr Hayrikian, the victim
of a January 31 shooting attack. By law, Hayrikian can ask the
Constitutional Court to postpone the vote for two weeks to give him
time to recover his health; a request he had previously indicated he
would make.
But on Tuesday, he decided against such a move. Then, late on Thursday,
he changed his mind again.
At last word, Hayrikian intended to file the request on February 8,
but a spokesperson for the Constitutional Court told EurasiaNet.org
late in the day that it still had not heard from him. The Court will
remain open over the weekend in case Hayrikian stands by his latest
decision and requests a delay in the elections.
Hayrikian's earlier surprise decision to not mind his damaged
collarbone, but carry on with his campaign had sparked speculation
that he had made a deal with the government, but the candidate angrily
dismissed such claims.
More surprises, though, came today, when the National Security
Service unexpectedly reported that it had arrested two 40-something
suspects, Khachatur Pogosian and Samvel Arutiunian, in the shooting
and that both had "confessed to the crime." The suspects are said to be
"illegally residing in Armenia," and allegedly have a criminal record
for drug dealing. Their supposed motivation for the attack has not
been released.
Yet, even here, suspicions are not laid to rest. The fact that
Hayrikian had claimed that his assailants had Slavic, rather than
Armenian, features added further to misgivings about the government's
handling of the case.
One representative of Hayrikian's campaign office, though, claimed
that the candidate had deliberately made up that description "so that
the villains could feel secure." He declined to go into details,
Aravot.am reported. Whichever twist this story takes next could be
anyone's guess. In the meantime, noted human-rights activist Artur
Sakunts, the doubts are running strong that anyone will be able to take
"the case to a new level . . . "
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66532
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
February 8, 2013 - 2:20pm, by Marianna Grigoryan
With less than ten days to go before Armenia's February 18 presidential
vote, Armenians still do not know for sure when, exactly, the election
will take place.
The reason is presidential candidate Paruyr Hayrikian, the victim
of a January 31 shooting attack. By law, Hayrikian can ask the
Constitutional Court to postpone the vote for two weeks to give him
time to recover his health; a request he had previously indicated he
would make.
But on Tuesday, he decided against such a move. Then, late on Thursday,
he changed his mind again.
At last word, Hayrikian intended to file the request on February 8,
but a spokesperson for the Constitutional Court told EurasiaNet.org
late in the day that it still had not heard from him. The Court will
remain open over the weekend in case Hayrikian stands by his latest
decision and requests a delay in the elections.
Hayrikian's earlier surprise decision to not mind his damaged
collarbone, but carry on with his campaign had sparked speculation
that he had made a deal with the government, but the candidate angrily
dismissed such claims.
More surprises, though, came today, when the National Security
Service unexpectedly reported that it had arrested two 40-something
suspects, Khachatur Pogosian and Samvel Arutiunian, in the shooting
and that both had "confessed to the crime." The suspects are said to be
"illegally residing in Armenia," and allegedly have a criminal record
for drug dealing. Their supposed motivation for the attack has not
been released.
Yet, even here, suspicions are not laid to rest. The fact that
Hayrikian had claimed that his assailants had Slavic, rather than
Armenian, features added further to misgivings about the government's
handling of the case.
One representative of Hayrikian's campaign office, though, claimed
that the candidate had deliberately made up that description "so that
the villains could feel secure." He declined to go into details,
Aravot.am reported. Whichever twist this story takes next could be
anyone's guess. In the meantime, noted human-rights activist Artur
Sakunts, the doubts are running strong that anyone will be able to take
"the case to a new level . . . "
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66532
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress