‘OLIGARCHIC’ PARTY AGAIN ACCUSED OF VOTE-BUYING
By Irina Hovannisian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
March 12 2007

The Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), a key election contender, faced
more opposition accusations of vote-buying on Monday after lavish
dinner parties thrown by its millionaire leader Gagik Tsarukian for
many women across the country.

Tsarukian’s Kentron television and another major Armenian TV channel
aired over the weekend a 30-minute "special report" on celebrations
of International Women’s Day that were organized by the tycoon in
Yerevan and dozens of small towns. Viewers were shown scores of women
marking the March 8 holiday in restaurants and receiving flowers on
the occasion. The largest of the parties involved live performances
by some of Armenia’s most popular pop singers.

It was the latest in a series of "benevolent actions" that are
thought to have earned Tsarukian’s party a considerable following
over the past year. Representatives of opposition parties were quick
to denounce it as another manifestation of wholesale vote-buying.

"That is no benevolence," said Suren Sureniants of the Hanrapetutyun
party. "That is a process of bribing and humiliating people. A
benefactor is not supposed to pursue political goals."

A BHK spokesman, Baghdasar Mherian, rejected the accusations. "Can
the people who claim that our benevolence is political propaganda
cite one example of a woman being told to vote for Prosperous Armenia
after being handed flowers?" he said. Mherian also argued that the
tycoon close to President Robert Kocharian has engaged in charitable
work since 1992, comparing him to Diaspora Armenian philanthropists
like Kirk Kerkorian and Charles Aznavour.

Armenian law forbids politicians and political parties running for
office from providing any goods and services to people in the hope
of securing their votes. Officially, Tsarukian’s stated benevolence
is done through a charity named after himself, meaning that his party
technically does not violate this restriction.

Tsarukian raised eyebrows last autumn by financing a large-scale
distribution of agricultural relief and provision of free medical
aid and other public services to tens of thousands of impoverished
people. BHK representatives say that the assistance has no connection
with the May 12 parliamentary elections, a claim dismissed by
opposition leaders and some representatives of the governing Republican
and Dashnaktsutyun parties.

The BHK claims to have recruited 370,000 members, or more than
all other Armenian parties taken together. The party, widely
regarded as Kocharian’s new power base, is expected to do well in
the forthcoming elections. But whether or not its real popularity
matches the staggering membership figure remains unknown due to a
lack of credible opinion polls in Armenia.