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DECISION 2013 FALLOUT: POLITICAL ANALYST RULES OUT MAJOR GOVERNMENT CONCESSIONS TO END POST-ELECTION STANDOFF
VOTE 2013 | 13.03.13 | 15:21
Photolure
By SIRANUYSH GEVORGYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
Political analysts in Armenia do not consider it likely that the
government will concede to one of the demands of Raffi Hovannisian,
an opposition candidate disputing last month's presidential election
outcome, for holding early parliamentary elections.
Meanwhile, reactions to such a proposal heard from the ruling
Republican Party now mainly concern the possibility of starting a
dialogue and providing some oversight levers to the opposition as a
possible concession.
Hovannisian, who started a hunger strike Sunday, during his Tuesday
press conference in Liberty Square revealed that he could still
consider snap parliamentary elections as a possible way-out of the
'troublesome' post-election situation.
He said, however, that such a solution must be an integral and
guaranteed one that would allow "the Armenian people to immediately
register its rebirth".
Hovannisian also said he hailed the proposal of another opposition
politician, Hanrapetutyun Party leader Aram Sargsyan, who suggested
that all opposition factions in the National Assembly give up their
mandates. "Because very soon there will be pre-term parliamentary
elections and we should have a National Assembly that reflects the
real vote of the people," he stressed.
Heritage Party representative Stepan Safaryan told ArmeniaNow that
holding pre-term parliamentary elections is a "minimum threshold"
for Hovannisian and his team to "resolve the election crisis."
Expert on political and election technologies Armen Badalyan, however,
is skeptical about any concessions on the part of the government. He
thinks that "the authorities already made a concession when they de
jure put Hovannisian in second place".
"We should state the fact that the February 18 presidential election
both de jure and de facto have ended. The outcome of this event called
an election had been a foregone conclusion and all politicians that
participated in it should understand that they were going, as the
Republican Party used to say, to the honorable second place. Any
action other than that, be it visits to the regions, applying to the
Constitutional Court, holding rallies in Liberty Square, a hunger
strike or holding two press conferences a day, will change nothing,"
Badalyan told ArmeniaNow.
The expert wonders why the government should agree to concessions:
"Because some 3-4 thousand people attend the rallies of Raffi
Hovannisian? Of course, not. Now attention should be focused on
municipal elections."
Badalyan says the government would have made concessions only if
Russia or the West had not recognized the election results. But all
major world powers have recognized Sargsyan as the winner.
"Our authorities do not agree to concessions if there is no outside
pressures. It would be a different story if, for example, a few
hundred thousand people attended demonstrations and they were held
every day and had support from the outside," said the expert.
Still, the ruling Republican Party seems to be politically constrained
as despite having a large majority, it doesn't seem to have many
allies after the election. So far, ruling party representatives limit
themselves to only urging Hovannisian to stop his hunger strike and
start a dialogue.
Republican MP Artak Davtyan said that the government has at least
lately been open to any reasonable proposal and voiced a hope that
the opposition and the government will come to terms regarding
"institutional changes". In an interview with RFE/RL's Armenian
Service on Tuesday, Davtyan, at the same time, did not rule out that
President Sargsyan could eventually go and meet with Hovannisian in
Liberty Square. Other senior members of the RPA did not exclude such
a possibility either.
Meanwhile, it is remarkable that opposition factions in the National
Assembly now seem reluctant to give up their mandates, as proposed
by Hovannisian, as they consider such a step to be "meaningless".
The Armenian National Congress (ANC), the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation, ARF, (which supports the Heritage leader most openly),
as well as the "alternative" Prosperous Armenia Party have effectively
excluded such a step.
ARF representative Vahan Hovhannisian, who visited the Heritage party
leader in Liberty Square on Tuesday, said that they are "always ready
to lay down mandates, but it should have some sense."
VOTE 2013 | 13.03.13 | 15:21
Photolure
By SIRANUYSH GEVORGYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
Political analysts in Armenia do not consider it likely that the
government will concede to one of the demands of Raffi Hovannisian,
an opposition candidate disputing last month's presidential election
outcome, for holding early parliamentary elections.
Meanwhile, reactions to such a proposal heard from the ruling
Republican Party now mainly concern the possibility of starting a
dialogue and providing some oversight levers to the opposition as a
possible concession.
Hovannisian, who started a hunger strike Sunday, during his Tuesday
press conference in Liberty Square revealed that he could still
consider snap parliamentary elections as a possible way-out of the
'troublesome' post-election situation.
He said, however, that such a solution must be an integral and
guaranteed one that would allow "the Armenian people to immediately
register its rebirth".
Hovannisian also said he hailed the proposal of another opposition
politician, Hanrapetutyun Party leader Aram Sargsyan, who suggested
that all opposition factions in the National Assembly give up their
mandates. "Because very soon there will be pre-term parliamentary
elections and we should have a National Assembly that reflects the
real vote of the people," he stressed.
Heritage Party representative Stepan Safaryan told ArmeniaNow that
holding pre-term parliamentary elections is a "minimum threshold"
for Hovannisian and his team to "resolve the election crisis."
Expert on political and election technologies Armen Badalyan, however,
is skeptical about any concessions on the part of the government. He
thinks that "the authorities already made a concession when they de
jure put Hovannisian in second place".
"We should state the fact that the February 18 presidential election
both de jure and de facto have ended. The outcome of this event called
an election had been a foregone conclusion and all politicians that
participated in it should understand that they were going, as the
Republican Party used to say, to the honorable second place. Any
action other than that, be it visits to the regions, applying to the
Constitutional Court, holding rallies in Liberty Square, a hunger
strike or holding two press conferences a day, will change nothing,"
Badalyan told ArmeniaNow.
The expert wonders why the government should agree to concessions:
"Because some 3-4 thousand people attend the rallies of Raffi
Hovannisian? Of course, not. Now attention should be focused on
municipal elections."
Badalyan says the government would have made concessions only if
Russia or the West had not recognized the election results. But all
major world powers have recognized Sargsyan as the winner.
"Our authorities do not agree to concessions if there is no outside
pressures. It would be a different story if, for example, a few
hundred thousand people attended demonstrations and they were held
every day and had support from the outside," said the expert.
Still, the ruling Republican Party seems to be politically constrained
as despite having a large majority, it doesn't seem to have many
allies after the election. So far, ruling party representatives limit
themselves to only urging Hovannisian to stop his hunger strike and
start a dialogue.
Republican MP Artak Davtyan said that the government has at least
lately been open to any reasonable proposal and voiced a hope that
the opposition and the government will come to terms regarding
"institutional changes". In an interview with RFE/RL's Armenian
Service on Tuesday, Davtyan, at the same time, did not rule out that
President Sargsyan could eventually go and meet with Hovannisian in
Liberty Square. Other senior members of the RPA did not exclude such
a possibility either.
Meanwhile, it is remarkable that opposition factions in the National
Assembly now seem reluctant to give up their mandates, as proposed
by Hovannisian, as they consider such a step to be "meaningless".
The Armenian National Congress (ANC), the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation, ARF, (which supports the Heritage leader most openly),
as well as the "alternative" Prosperous Armenia Party have effectively
excluded such a step.
ARF representative Vahan Hovhannisian, who visited the Heritage party
leader in Liberty Square on Tuesday, said that they are "always ready
to lay down mandates, but it should have some sense."