A leading member of the former ruling Republic Party of Armenia (HHK) said on Wednesday that it will mainly rely on television appearances and other media interviews, rather than rallies, in its parliamentary election campaign.
“I think that [campaign rallies] may not be that effective,” Vahram Baghdasarian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). “We should make greater use of the press, television. That’s how, I think, the campaign should be conducted.”
Baghdasarian denied fearing hostile public reactions or poor attendance of HHK rallies. “On the contrary, there is more interest [in the HHK] now and more people will come to our gatherings,” he claimed.
Observers believe that the HHK, whose top leader Serzh Sarkisian governed Armenia from 2008-2018, is now too unpopular to make a strong showing in the December 9 elections. Some of them have predicted that it will fail to win at least 5 percent of the vote needed for having seats in the new parliament.
Baghdasarian acknowledged that risk, while insisting that the former ruling party has “sufficient” chances of remaining represented in the National Assembly. “The Republicans’ entry into the National Assembly is in the interests of our state,” he said. “You will witness that in the future.”
Sarkisian has kept a very low profile since mass protests led by Nikol Pashinian forced him to resign in April. Despite remaining HHK chairman, he decided not to run in the upcoming elections.
The HHK’s list of election candidates is topped by former Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian. Over the past week, Sargsian has given interviews to Armenian TV stations and online media outlets on a practically daily basis.
HHK leaders now describe their party as the country’s sole real opposition force. Other parties and blocs challenging Pashinian’s My Step alliance in the elections dismiss such statements.
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