EMERGENCE OF MILLIONAIRE BUSINESSMAN GAGIK TSARUKIAN IN ARMENIA’S POLITICAL ARENA IS A POINT OF CONCERN

ArmInfo
2007-06-26 10:40:00

After the parliamentary election returns in Armenia had been announced,
it turned out that the Prosperous Armenia party founded in March
2006 by millionaire businessman Gagik Tsarukian and supportive to the
policies of the incumbent President of Armenia Robert Kocharian made
a rapid emergence as a serious political force in these elections,
MP Leo Platvoet (Netherlands) says in his report "Observation of
Parliamentary Elections in Armenia", which was discussed at the PACE
session in Strasbourg, Monday.

The author of the report notes that the sudden emergence of the
Prosperous Armenia Party of millionaire businessman Gagik Tsarukian
as a leading political force, is a point of concern, as it displays
connection of political and business interests, especially in the
light of the relatively weak provisions regarding financial disclosure
and transparency of campaign finances. Moreover, he points out that
the opposition in Armenia is fragmented. "Most opposition parties
seemed to have lost a degree of popular support, and their position
seemed to have weakened, as a result of their decision to boycott
the Constitutional referendum in 2005", the document notes.