MP And Ethnographer Speak Of Armenia Ruling Party’s Popularity And P

MP AND ETHNOGRAPHER SPEAK OF ARMENIA RULING PARTY’S POPULARITY AND PEOPLE’S DISCONTENT

16:08 ~U 07.05.13

Summing up Feb. 18 presidential election and the May 5 elections to
Yerevan’s Council of Elders, Manvel Badeyan, a Republican Party of
Armenia (RPA) parliamentary group member, noted that the RPA enjoys
greater popularity in Armenia’s society than other political forces.

“The RPA has confirmed its victory three times. It is a fact,”
Badeyan told journalists on Tuesday.

The ethnographer Hranush Kharatyan, who was present at the press
conference, disagreed with Badeyan. She noted that 70% of Armenia’s
population are dissatisfied with the authorities.

With respect to the election process as such, Badeyan noted that the
political forces losing the elections account for each of their defeats
by election frauds. “They do not see any other reasons,” he said.

Badeyan admits election frauds, but denies their essential impact on
the final election results.

“Any major fraud may affect the results no more than ten percent,”
he said.

As regards the results of elections to Yerevan’s Council of Elders,
he said that Taron Margaryan’s personality played a significant role.

“It is because Yerevan’s population elects a manager-mayor. People are
cleverer than certain political forces think they are,” Badeyan said.

Hranush Kharatyan, though admits the figures, asked her opponent
to explain the discontent of 70% of Armenia’s population with the
country’s authorities and high rates of emigration.

“How are such figures possible with such discontent by the
population?” she asked.

She proposes that RPA members travel around the regions where it
polled the highest vote and see the real situation.

“Then we will see whether our people are no fool to reproduce the
authorities after experiencing hardship,” Kharatyan said.

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress