On the Road to Political Stability

As the timetable for the December 9th parliamentary elections in Armenia went into effect, a number of parties announced that they will not participate in the upcoming elections of the National Assembly. The Armenian National Congress headed by Levon Ter-Petrosian, the first president of independent Armenia, Heritage Party led by Raffi Hovannisian, SDHP and a number of other parties have made such decisions. Those who have pulled out of the political processes, based their decisions on the shortcomings of the current electoral law that hinders the ability to run a campaign based on concrete platforms and ideas.

On the other hand, the remnants of the former regime, which was toppled few months ago through a popular uprising, are quite enthusiastic and confidant that they will become the second force in the next Parliament. They claim to be ready to assume the role of the main opposition party to counterbalance Nikol Pashinian’s new government, which will be formed after the elections.

The Prosperous Armenia party, led by wealthy businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, also has high expectations. This party lacks any ideological beliefs and is solely relying on the financial resources of its leader and the goodwill he accumulated through his many years of charitable work.

All political forces are accepting the fact that the victory of Pashinian’s Civil Accord Party is inevitable and the only reaming question is the percentage of the vote the party will register. Based on the results of Yerevan mayoral elections, which took place two months ago, the predictions are that the party will receive at least 70 percent of the vote. Other forces are fighting for a share of the remaining 30 percent.

After the revolution, there was an expectation that the next parliamentary elections will not only be free and fair, but also the campaign will be fought on ideological grounds. In spite of all the efforts, it was not possible to change the Electoral Code before the elections, and thus fulfill the expectations of the people.

The withdrawal of the parties with cretin ideological principles from the electoral process will be a loss. But, in order to bring the revolution to its logical conclusion and ending the political uncertainty in the country, the snap elections are a necessary and important step on the road to establishing stability in Armenia.
MASSIS