Parliamentary Election Monitor
Liberty Squared, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian/Oneworld Multimedia 2007
Following on from Saturday’s crushing defeat in the parliamentary election and the rather pitiful protest by the radical opposition the next day, one of Impeachment’s leaders, newspaper editor Nikol Pashinian, yesterday launched a sit-in strike in Yerevan’s Liberty Square. Pashinian hopes that he will be able to draw attention to, as well as attract public support for, tomorrow’s last-ditch effort by the radical opposition to protest the outcome of the vote.
PanArmenian.Net has more.
PanARMENIAN.Net/ Leader of “Impeachment” opposition block, editor-in-chief of “Haykakan Zhamanak” newspaper Nikol Pashinyan launched a sit-down strike on the Liberty Square May 16 in Yerevan. Pashinyan protests against “falsification of elections and the current situation in the country”. He said, the sit-down strike “is not a desperate move, but a move against despair, which forced a man, a citizen who has the right to rule and who has given in that right to a pair of criminals”. “It is also an action of hope and prove of the fact that we will not submit the existing situation and will do our best to leave a country to our children, which we dream of,” he stressed. Pashinyan underlined he had declared a sit-down strike not as a representative of a political force, but as a citizen, whose rights are being violated.
Pashinyan took up position under the monument to famous Armenian writer Hovhannes Tumanyan in the Liberty Square. Currently about 50 posters have been stuck on the monuments with a “+1” inscription. This inscription symbolizes the “1+1+1+” formula created by Pashinyan, which supposes gradual unification of people to the idea of disobedience to the existing regime.
Leader of “Republic” party Aram Sargsyan, representatives of People’s Party of Armenia and ordinary citizens have already joined the action.
[…]
As I said, while this action is refreshing given that pressure to demand recounts and investigations into possible electoral fraud are as much part of the election process as the day of the vote itself, tomorrow marks the radical opposition’s last chance to protest the outcome of the 12 May poll. The rally held a few hours after the first preliminary results were known last Sunday was really small everything considered.
The Armenian Patchwork posts some photos and commentary.
This Friday our opposition Impeachment bloc will hold a rally on Freedom Square again and maybe some interesting stuff will happen, and maybe not. Some people hoped on it last Sunday, but the leaders said “we will not march” and so they peacefully left. So we’ll see what happens on Friday.
However, because I never stand too much for politics, whether pro-government or opposition, I was more than happy that the protesters did not march for impeachment.
Meanwhile, as sign that things really might be changing for the better in Armenia, others are also contesting the vote in legal ways. This means the courts rather than the streets although I personally believe that both are necessary. Not to initiate “revolution,” of course, but as a clear sign that the court and CEC must be independent and base its decision on any evidence provided.
RFE/RL has more.
Hundreds of people rallied in a small Armenian town for a second consecutive day on Thursday in protest against serious fraud which they said decided the outcome of a parliamentary election held in their constituency.
The protesters were supporters of Talin’s Mayor Mnatsakan Mnatsakanian who ran for parliament in the local single-mandate electoral district as an independent and was narrowly defeated by his main rival representing the governing Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). According to the district election commission, the HHK candidate, Khachik Manukian, won by a margin of 162 votes.
Mnatsakanian refused to concede defeat, demanding a vote recount in three local villages where Manukian’s supporters allegedly stuffed ballots and resorted to other irregularities. Recounting of ballots cast in those villages on the party list basis exposed major violations that benefited the HHK and the pro-presidential Prosperous Armenia (BHK).
The refusal by the district commission to recount ballots cast for individual candidates as well sparked angry street protests in Talin late Wednesday. Dozens of baton-wielding police, reinforced by special security forces sent from Yerevan, were deployed the next day in and outside the main local government building, which also houses the election body.
It’s encouraging to read such news although that’s not to say a recount will yield any different results. It still appears as though massive vote-buying decided matters and it has to be said, if that’s the case, the people who took the money voted for who paid them in a secret ballot. Unfortunately, however, the same illogical response from some Armenians still comes from time to time. Constrast that with the reaction of voters in other former Soviet Republics who use their votes and do everything to protect them.
“The people of Talin must not participate in the [2008] presidential elections,” said another.
Many of the protesters agreed.
And despite the fact that most analysts conclude that this election was a defeat for the opposition rather than a victory for the government, recriminations against those anti-government parties which did enter parliament this time round continue from those representing or supportive of those that didn’t. First up is Aram Karapetian, a candidate in the 2003 presidential election who was then accused by his new opposition allies of being an agent of Russia and the Armenian government.
Now he seems to be doing the same to others, and refuses to work with Orinats Yerkir in contesting the outcome of the vote.
“Legally the parliamentary elections are over and we cannot do anything. We are going to dispute the results of the elections at the Constitutional Court only to show the international community that we do not accept the results”,- announced leader of the “New Times Party” Aram Karapetyan today. The “New Times Party” will not join the “Country of Law Party” in applying to the Constitutional Court or will not provide it with the proves of fraud cases which he has got.
However, he is ready to present the Constitutional Court the registered fraud cases of the powers which joined “Impeachment”. “I apologize, but I have never considered the “Country of Law Party” an opposition”, - said Aram Karapetyan. From his point of view, Arthur Baghdasaryan should have replied Robert Kocharyan announcing that the latter was the betrayer.
Right, protest the election and lament the outcome of the vote, especially when international and domestic observers disagree with you, and refuse to work with other political forces to prove that falsification occurred over and above what the OSCE knows already. Yes, that makes a lot of sense. No wonder the established and traditional opposition now finds itself outside of parliament. Still, others understand the reality the opposition now faces itself in, as I’ve mentioned already on this blog, and are writing some good analytical pieces on the matter.
RFE/RL’s Liz Fuller is the latest to do so.
The election also resulted in significant shifts within the parliamentary opposition, notably the weakening of the opposition Orinats Yerkir party of former parliament Chairman Artur Baghdasarian. With less than 7 percent of the vote, the onetime member of the pro-government coalition will have only 10 deputies in the new parliament, but Baghdasarian has nonetheless made it clear that he intends to discard the opposition’s traditional tactics of boycott and abstention, vowing to embark instead on a bold strategy of legislative confrontation.
Second, if the sidelining of Orinats Yerkir was generally expected, the failure of longtime opposition leader Stepan Demirchian and his People’s Party of Armenia (HZhK) to surmount the 5 percent threshold for returning to parliament was not. The failure of both Demirchian — whom Kocharian defeated in presidential runoffs in 1998 and 2003 — and his opposition party to win reelection, and the HZhK’s dismal 1.7 percent of the party-list vote, may reflect his erstwhile supporters’ unhappiness at his refusal to sacrifice his personal ambition for the sake of creating a unified opposition bloc.
The third significant development was the emergence of a new dynamic political actor in the form of the Zharangutiun (Heritage) party of U.S.-born former Foreign Minister Raffi Hovannisian. Official election results gave the party only 6 percent of the vote and a total of six parliament mandates, although many Armenians believe that the popular Hovannisian received a far greater number of votes, especially in Yerevan. The well-liked Hovannisian is hailed as a new opposition force, capable of injecting a new sense of optimism and integrity into Armenian politics.
[…]
As the country’s uncrowned new opposition leader, Hovannisian will most likely eclipse Baghdasarian in terms of both political prowess and popular appeal, thanks largely to his personal record. He is seen as untainted by corruption and, unlike Baghdasarian, free from the constraints of past association with the ruling elite. Most importantly, Hovannisian, who first moved to Armenia 16 years ago and served as its foreign minister in 1992, offers something new for Armenian politics, while still maintaining an established record of principled opposition and standing. He has waged a long battle with the Armenian authorities, beginning with the controversial rejection of his candidacy in the 2003 presidential election and culminating in the eviction of his party last year from the building housing its Yerevan headquarters. This dual record of political persecution and opposition has only endeared him to ordinary Armenians.
Well, nothing much is expected to happen at tomorrow’s Impeachment-Republic-New Times-People’s Party rally even if I read one report saying that Artur Baghdasarian and Orinats Yerkir might join them.
No doubt Aram Karapetian can argue about who is opposition and who is not to really confuse and disillusion anyone assembled if that is the case. On that, these combined political forces need to attract a crowd of at least 15,000 (estimated from independent sources, and not A1 Plus, please), but even then it is unlikely they will achieve anything now the international community and domestic observers have backed the election results.
Still, let’s see, although it’s likely the protests will continue for 2 weeks while the audience gets less and less with each passing demo. These guys speak too long and usually repeat what they’ve said already to an audience that I’m surprised doesn’t fall asleep with boredom. Certainly, unless the radical opposition gathers enough people to stage a march tomorrow, it’s all over for them as any political force of significance in Armenia’s foreseeable future.
Actually, unless Orinats Yerkir and Heritage join them, it’s already over.
Liberty Squared, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian/Oneworld Multimedia 2007
Comment by Onnik — May 18, 2007 @ 2:20 pm
Comment by Onnik — May 18, 2007 @ 5:19 pm
Strangely, I agree with Baghdasaryan.
Comment by nazarian — May 18, 2007 @ 10:41 pm
Well, the rally came and went and the numbers attending were small. I’d say 2,500. RFE/RL has more.
Not only did a senior representative of Orinats Yerkir did take part, but a senior representative of Heritage watched on from a nearby cafe. In an ideal world, and possibly mirroring a similar situation in Azerbaijan in the parliamentary election held there in 2005, results from a few polling stations might be annulled.
Let’s see.
Meanwhile RFE/RL’s Press Review has some summarized translations of what the local press has to say.
Comment by Onnik — May 19, 2007 @ 9:17 am
Comment by Onnik — May 19, 2007 @ 9:43 am
EurasiaNet also has more.
Comment by Onnik — May 19, 2007 @ 9:50 am