BEFORE ELECTION IT IS NOT CLEAR WHO IS GOVERNMENT AND WHO IS OPPOSITION

Lragir, Armenia
Oct 30 2006

Samvel Nikoyan, member of the Council of the Republican Party and
Alexan Karapetyan, deputy leader of the National Solidarity Party,
started their October 30 debate at the Hayeli Club like real gentlemen
and with a sense of humor: one let the other start first.

"We’ll let everything go except power," Samvel Nikoyan said. "And
money," added Alexan Karapetyan. In fact, it became clear over what
issues the government and the opposition will never come to a peaceful
compromise, and what it takes the opposition to be happy.

And the debate was over the Electoral Code.

Alexan Karapetyan repeated that a 100 percent proportional eelction
code is preferable, after the election the political forces assume
political responsibility and it has been 15 years they are ready
for it. Like all the other Republicans, Samvel Nikoyan thinks that
we are not ready for a 100 percent proportional system, and besides,
there is political agreement on 90 seats for the proportional system
and 41 for the majority system. The next painful issue is the order
of setting up electoral commissions. Alexan Karapetyan stated that it
is wrong to include the parliamentary groups in the commissions. "The
majority of the People’s Deputy Group became Republicans. It appears
that the Republican Party has two representatives to the commissions.

You use these seats into trade. The People’s Deputy is a button
for you to push." Samvel Nikoyan proposed looking forward. This is
already past.

Alexan Karapetyan has a negative opinion on the charity stepped up by
the political parties. First because they break the electoral code and
the law on the political parties, and besides "there is no guarantee
that the same will not occur during the elections." And if Alexan
Karapetyan also adds that such steps are taken under the auspices of
the president, "nobody can break the law and get away with it if he
is not protected by the president." Samvel Nikoyan disikes this kind
of charity because "I fear that the political and ideological battle
will move onto the sphere of distributing seeds to farmers."

Samvel Nikoyan made a peculiar statement. According to him, it is
difficult to tell before the election who is opposition, who is
pro-government, and therefore it is wrong to accept an equal number
of representatives of these forces to the electoral commissions. For
instance, Samvel Nikoyan thinks that the Republican Party and the
ARF Dashnaktsutyun will become rivals before the election. But the
Republican Party and the ARF Dashnaktsutyun will remain government,
won’t they? Samvel Nikoyan declined to answer this question.