ARMENIAN SPEAKER SAYS HIS PARTY WANTS FREE AND FAIR PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION
Arminfo
15 Mar 07
Yerevan, 15 Mar: The 12 May parliamentary election in Armenia will be
of great significance to Armenia for the next 20-25 years, National
Assembly [parliament] Speaker Tigran Torosyan told a news conference
today [15 March].
He said he was not talking about the possibility that the Millennium
Challenges Account programme may be suspended if cases of possible
[election] fraud are detected. The country’s future and its democratic
development are more important than several million dollars, he said.
He also said that there are tens of thousands of people in the
Republican Party of Armenia [RPA] – where he is the deputy chairman
of the board – and it is impossible to make sure that no party member
engages in fraud. However, the RPA’s position was and is the same:
to thwart any fraud and do whatever it takes to ensure free and fair
election. Torosyan said that in the near future, a commission will be
set up in the parliament tasked with ensuring free and fair election.
As for the RPA’s chances in the parliamentary race, Torosyan said
that any political party which has a faction in parliament counts on
maintaining what it has and enlarge its representation, if possible.