“Aravot” says ever since former President Levon Ter-Petrosian resigned in 1998 the authorities in Yerevan have exploited severe hardship suffered by many Armenians during his rule for electoral purposes and the current parliamentary race is no exception. “Since that ploy is being repeated for at least a sixth time, I am inclined to think that this propaganda weapon works in one way or another,” writes Aram Abrahamian, the newspaper editor. “For people living with instincts, the severe living conditions of those years are a really powerful argument. In general, our political culture is based on evoking negative emotions and I see that as one of the most important obstacles to our development.”
“Irates de facto” says pre-election periods always create clearer pictures of the political configuration in Armenia. “One can clearly see who is a pro-government force, who is in opposition, who is a false opposition force and, most importantly, who is the election campaign favorite,” writes the paper. “These elections are unique in the history of Armenia,” it says. “Who said that an opposition force must always have the highest approval rating? These elections have smashed that stereotype.”
“Zhoghovurd” says the current race is different from the previous ones in that three major political actors, including the opposition Zharangutyun (Heritage) party and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), have ruled out the possibility of post-election power-sharing agreements with President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). “As for the Armenian National Congress (HAK), despite Levon Ter-Petrosian’s anti-Republican and anti-Sarkisian rhetoric, which has been toughened in recent days, the Congress has not declared cooperation with the president impossible,” the paper says. “Judging from the experience of [the HAK’s] cooperation with the HHK last summer, it is evident that such cooperation must also not be ruled out, both in theory and practice.”
Galust Sahakian, an HHK deputy chairman, assures “Yerkir” that the HHK, the BHK and the third partner in the ruling coalition, Orinats Yerkir, stand by joint declarations signed by their leaders in 2008 and 2011. “But as the election campaign intensifies, the people become jittery and create unusual conditions for themselves,” he says in an apparent reference to critical statements made by some BHK figures and former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian in particular. “The BHK never breaches our agreements,” he says. “The problem here is Oskanian. Oskanian has become the HAK’s mouthpiece. What Ter-Petrosian says is formulated by Oskanian in a more lucid and civilized way.”
(Aghasi Yenokian)
“Irates de facto” says pre-election periods always create clearer pictures of the political configuration in Armenia. “One can clearly see who is a pro-government force, who is in opposition, who is a false opposition force and, most importantly, who is the election campaign favorite,” writes the paper. “These elections are unique in the history of Armenia,” it says. “Who said that an opposition force must always have the highest approval rating? These elections have smashed that stereotype.”
“Zhoghovurd” says the current race is different from the previous ones in that three major political actors, including the opposition Zharangutyun (Heritage) party and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), have ruled out the possibility of post-election power-sharing agreements with President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). “As for the Armenian National Congress (HAK), despite Levon Ter-Petrosian’s anti-Republican and anti-Sarkisian rhetoric, which has been toughened in recent days, the Congress has not declared cooperation with the president impossible,” the paper says. “Judging from the experience of [the HAK’s] cooperation with the HHK last summer, it is evident that such cooperation must also not be ruled out, both in theory and practice.”
Galust Sahakian, an HHK deputy chairman, assures “Yerkir” that the HHK, the BHK and the third partner in the ruling coalition, Orinats Yerkir, stand by joint declarations signed by their leaders in 2008 and 2011. “But as the election campaign intensifies, the people become jittery and create unusual conditions for themselves,” he says in an apparent reference to critical statements made by some BHK figures and former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian in particular. “The BHK never breaches our agreements,” he says. “The problem here is Oskanian. Oskanian has become the HAK’s mouthpiece. What Ter-Petrosian says is formulated by Oskanian in a more lucid and civilized way.”
(Aghasi Yenokian)