Elections with no choice

By Azernews

By Kamila Aliyeva

The pre-election race in Armenia is a show-off game between various political levers, which do nothing, but give out empty promises and, in general, do not care about the people of the country.

Elections without choice – this is how the current political situation in Armenia can be described, since, actually, Armenians have to chose one among possible one.

Already fierce but very strange struggle is flaming up, where everything is possible for one and nothing for others.

Take at least False Start of Nikol Pashinyan in the election race. He began campaigning a few days earlier, but despite all the cries of protest from other participants in the process, he continued in the same spirit. Moreover, he declared that “we are breaking and we will break the rules.”

In general, the election campaign is very aggressive, the parties are engaged exclusively in insulting and humiliating opponents, as if this should be the task of candidates for a mandate in parliament. Citizens of Armenia have to choose between bad, very bad and just awful.

Each side has its own arguments. Pashinyan and his colleagues are gaining points, telling the citizens how bad it was. Republicans, using numerous punctures and blunders of the new prime minister, indicate to them saying how bad it has become. But it seems that the campaign will no longer follow a constructive track. Prior to the start of the pre-election race, Pashinyan said it was necessary to introduce a culture of debate during the election campaign.

A few days ago, the ex-Minister of Defense, Vigen Sargsyan, the number one in the list of candidates from the Republican Party, proposed to hold a two-sided debate with Pashinyan.

However, Pashinyan left this proposal unanswered. As stated by the spokesman for the Civil Contract Party, Vahan Kostanyan, the prime minister is ready for a debate with the participation of all parties.

In fact, Nikol Pashinyan, feeling very comfortable in front of the crowd eagerly gazing into his mouth, was frightened by the direct dialogue with his opponents.

This is very bad for the populist Pashinyan, since it demonstrates his lack of arguments and the fear of political dialogue. The “revolutionary” premier of Armenia has absolutely nothing to say, all that he can do is to threaten opponents making fun of him, who, by the way, are not at all in awe of his threats.

On the eve of the elections, political parties in Armenia are in different moods. The RPA continues to be a threat to Pashinyan, since it has not lost its political force. Pashinyan is quite convinced in the victory, and other political parties act as outside observers.

In live broadcast on Facebook, Nikol Pashinyan claimed that the time of those who robbed is over.

“In these elections, an Armenian citizen must send the Republican Party to the political landfill as the one which plundered the country, plundered the army, put in despair people and anti-state structure,” said Pashinyan.

In addition, he noted that “undercover republican-mafia games will not work.”

Although, his speeches are quite aggressive and anti-republican, it seems that he doesn’t want to meet his opponent in person. He prefers to speak online, where no one can respond to him.

When the RPA announced its desire to take part in elections, opinions about the feasibility of Republican participation differed dramatically. However, there is logic in this move. As the elections will already be, so to speak, without a choice, the RPA can at least go to parliament and expand its opposition activities. The government cannot function effectively without opposition. Moreover, as it turned out now, this party still holds a great deal of political force in its hands. And, Pashinyan’s unwillingness to openly speak with the RPA representative, shows weakness of his arguments.

On October 16, Armenian acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan resigned in order to achieve the dissolution of the parliament and the holding of early parliamentary elections. On November 1, at a special meeting, MPs did not elect the Prime Minister for the second time, and, in accordance with the Constitution, the parliament was dissolved by virtue of law. On the same day, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian appointed to hold early parliamentary elections on December 9, 2018.