On Predetermined Elections and Unprecedented Electoral Processes in Armenia -2013
The scenario of RA presidential elections without intrigues can already be considered a failure.
Although after the refusal of the main political opponents of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia to participate in the race for the electorate declared in December 2012, everyone, both in Armenia and abroad, began to talk about the lack of any intrigue and the predetermined outcomes of the elections.
Union against Predetermination Failed
In January it became known that eight people were nominated as presidential candidates.
Two of them – the leader of the National Consent Party Aram Harutyunyan and the director of “Radio Hay” Andreas Ghukasyan, nominated by civil initiative, immediately declared of their intention not to participate in elections in the classic sense of participation, and of their plans to prevent the re-election of S. Sargsyan by all possible means.
They used different tactics.
Aram Harutyunyan urged everyone to withdraw their own candidacies 10 days before the Election Day and leave only the S. Sargsyan’s name on the bulletins, using such a boycott to prevent the legitimation of the incumbent President’s reelection.
Andreas Ghukasyan offered to do it starting t the launch of the campaign and turn the presidential elections into a referendum of confidence to S. Sargsyan, afterwards mobilizing the civil society for the recovery of the country. The other candidates did not follow these calls.
Never before had any candidate for presidency been nominated in order to boycott the election and, at least formally tried to prevent the re-election the incumbent by his own election.
Phase of Radical Measures
On January 21, the race officially started.
On this day Andreas Ghukasyan started his open-ended hunger strike, thus realizing his ultimatum – “otherwise I will go on a hunger strike.”
As a sign of solidarity not to his plan, and to him personally, another presidential candidate Paruyr Hayrikyan went on a three-day hunger strike who, like S. Sargsyan, R. Hovannisian, and H. Bagratyan, at the same time held pre-election meetings with the population in different regions in Armenia, with their campaign videos shown on national TV channels and resorted to other forms and means of propaganda.
Shant Harutyunyan, the leader of the Tseghakron Party, went on a three-day hunger strike as a sign of solidarity.
Journalists interviewed the Presidential candidate Andreas Ghukasyan on the site of his hunger strike in front of the National Academy of Sciences, located near the Presidential residence. The public learned about the future plans of the candidate also from his Facebook page.
On the first day of the launch of the official campaign Arman Melikyan also announced of his intention to abandon the classical form of the campaign. He said that his main goal was the fight against electoral fraud and, therefore, he would fight to make sure that the authorities announced the number of Armenian citizens on the register, however living abroad and thus not planning to participate in the elections.
This was a significant number of names that the government usually used for falsification. All of his appeals to the proper authorities have not yet been adequately answered.
During the election campaign, another candidate, Vardan Sedrakyan amused the public with his ambitious statements, being a man unknown to the public before his nomination, an unemployed candidate who, however, stated he would gain at least 81% of the vote, sitting on his couch and watching the vain attempts of the other election candidates. All his contacts with the public were limited to press conferences and the two pages opened on Facebook social network.
The Presidential candidate H. Bagratyan actively campaigned in the network Facebook and had meetings with the electorate.
On the night of February 1, an attempted murder was undertaken against presidential candidate Paruyr Hayrikyan, he was shot at. This event gave more poignancy to pre-election processes, increasing the number of unprecedented situations, thus making the application of Article 52 of the Constitution probable for the first time. This article establishes the possibility of postponing the elections if a candidate has found himself in a situation with insurmountable obstacles.
However, on February 5th Paruyr Hayrikyan announced his decision to continue the campaign without any delay, since he did not want to follow the scenario of those forces that organized this attack and tried to spoil the political image of the country.
This statement was perceived differently by the other presidential candidates, some of which (including Serzh Sargsyan) after a one-day pause in the race caused by the attack on Hayrikyan continued his campaign, while the latter was making his decision.
The decision to continue the race, despite the poor physical condition of the candidate, was quite unexpected, because immediately after the shooting Hayrikyan spoke of the forced postponement of elections for two weeks, as required by the law.
On February 6th, the 16th day of the candidate Andreas Ghukasyan’s hunger strike the media reported of his deteriorating health condition. However, as the Chairman of the Central Election Committee announced this particular case could not be construed as an insurmountable obstacle, independent of the candidate’s will.
As before?
Armenia is on the eve of the 6 th presidential elections (1991, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2008).
The incumbent President Sargsyan is the third president, being the successor of Ter-Petrosyan and Robert Kocharyan. Despite all domestic disasters, the likelihood that S. Sargsyan may be re-elected for a second term is quite large.
But in defiance to this tradition, Raffi Hovannisian declared himself as the 4th President in his personal data on the Internet. He promises to break that tradition not only by his election now, but the introduction of a Parliamentary government.
Hovannisian meet voters, walks on foot in the streets, greets everyone and smiles broadly. And on one of the days of the campaign he all of a sudden went into a barber shop in Yerevan and asked the astonished barber to do his hair in front of the accompanying journalists.
On February 8th no one was surprised by the self-withdrawal of the Presidential candidate Aram Harutyunyan. Later, he also bade farewell to his probable supporters on Facebook.
On February 10th unexpectedly for everyone P. Hayrikyan went to the Constitutional Court with a request for a two-week time-out .
On February 11th he changed his mind and withdrew his application.
There is very little time left before the RA Presidential elections (to be held on February 18th)?