Parliamentary Election Monitor
The latest Election Monitor is now available on the CRD/TI Armenia blog. The Monitor mainly deals with the failure of the opposition to unite ahead of the May parliamentary election.
RFE/RL carries news that after last ditch efforts to unite, some of Armenia’s smaller opposition parties have failed to unite to form an electoral alliance. The news will probably come as no surprise to many political observers who view the opposition as being weak. Because few parties are based on any kind of political ideology, the ambitions of those at the top usually mean that they are personality-driven rather than represent anything concrete or tangible to the electorate.
As usual, there are allegations from some of those involved in talks that back room deals have been struck with the Government. Already, one opposition newspaper accuses People’s Party leader Stepan Demirchyan of making a deal before making a retraction the next day. Yet, while such rumors are probably untrue, they do at least illustrate just how divided and paranoid politics in Armenia can be. However, RFE/RL does at least report that some opposition parties lament the state of affairs.
The full post is here.
