Opposition leader vows to continue fight after polls
02.04.2017,
15:38
Armenia’s first post-Soviet foreign minister Raffi Hovanissian, a leader of an opposition bloc called Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanian (ORO), accused today the authorities of using the administrative resource to rig the vote in the landmark legislative elections in favor of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, saying that the bloc would not stay at home after the elections and would try to continue the constitutional struggle.
YEREVAN, April 2. /ARKA/. Armenia’s first post-Soviet foreign minister Raffi Hovanissian, a leader of an opposition bloc called Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanian (ORO), accused today the authorities of using the administrative resource to rig the vote in the landmark legislative elections in favor of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, saying that the bloc would not stay at home after the elections and would try to continue the constitutional struggle.
Speaking to reporters after casting his ballot, Hovanissian, said he voted for the guys - the heroes of the country and for the sake of tomorrow, claiming also that ‘the processes are outside the law.’
According to him, the governing party began to abuse the administrative resource long before the election day, by intimidating school headmasters and teachers, employees of healthcare, culture, sports systems as well as law enforcement officers.
"We have signals that threads are placed into envelopes. There are also mobile groups of voters who travel from one polling station to another one for multiple voting since there is no single database of fingerprints. Electoral bribes are being distributed. We intend to continue our struggle. We will not stay at home and will try to fight with all possible resources within the framework of the constitution,‘ Hovanissian said.
He claimed that the assessment of the vote (by observers) will not be very different from previous assessments. "This is a struggle for having a country of law. In any case, we hope that in the end we will have the Republic of Armenia, not a country of one party," Hovannissian said.
A total of five parties and four electoral blocs are running in Sunday's vote, with at least 101 parliamentary seats up for grabs under a proportional representation system. A party needs to clear a five-percent threshold to be represented in parliament, while an electoral bloc made up of several parties needs to garner at least seven percent of the vote.
These are the first polls that come after constitutional amendments initiated by president Serzh Sargsyan in 2015. The changes were passed after a referendum. The amendments will shift the country away from semi-presidential form of government to a parliamentary form of government after Sargsyan’s second and final term ends in 2018. -0-
Speaking to reporters after casting his ballot, Hovanissian, said he voted for the guys - the heroes of the country and for the sake of tomorrow, claiming also that ‘the processes are outside the law.’
According to him, the governing party began to abuse the administrative resource long before the election day, by intimidating school headmasters and teachers, employees of healthcare, culture, sports systems as well as law enforcement officers.
"We have signals that threads are placed into envelopes. There are also mobile groups of voters who travel from one polling station to another one for multiple voting since there is no single database of fingerprints. Electoral bribes are being distributed. We intend to continue our struggle. We will not stay at home and will try to fight with all possible resources within the framework of the constitution,‘ Hovanissian said.
He claimed that the assessment of the vote (by observers) will not be very different from previous assessments. "This is a struggle for having a country of law. In any case, we hope that in the end we will have the Republic of Armenia, not a country of one party," Hovannissian said.
A total of five parties and four electoral blocs are running in Sunday's vote, with at least 101 parliamentary seats up for grabs under a proportional representation system. A party needs to clear a five-percent threshold to be represented in parliament, while an electoral bloc made up of several parties needs to garner at least seven percent of the vote.
These are the first polls that come after constitutional amendments initiated by president Serzh Sargsyan in 2015. The changes were passed after a referendum. The amendments will shift the country away from semi-presidential form of government to a parliamentary form of government after Sargsyan’s second and final term ends in 2018. -0-
