Aravot, Armenia
Jan 11 2008

ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES GIVE FALSE PROMISES – FORMER
OPPOSITION FIGURE

A former top member of the opposition People’s Party of Armenia has
accused some presidential candidates of giving false promises ahead
of the elections scheduled for 19 February. "I can’t imagine how they
will fulfil their programmes when they don’t have a majority in
parliament and are not going to work with the existing majority. If
they are not going to work, then they are only pretending," Stepan
Zakaryan said. Only the candidate that enjoys majority in parliament
is capable of carrying out fundamental changes in this country, he
said. The following is an excerpt from Margarit Yesayan’s report by
Armenian newspaper Aravot on 11 January headlined "You should not lie
to people, former MP Stepan Zakaryan says":

[Question] Mr Zakaryan, you submitted your resignation from the PPA
[People’s Party of Armenia] recently, and they say that the reason is
that the PPA supports [former President] Levon Ter-Petrosyan whom you
oppose.

[Stepan Zakaryan, former PPA secretary] You should not lie to people.
I am surprised that some of the [presidential] candidates either do
not see the reality or pretend they do not see it: the situation has
changed in Armenia after the 2005 constitutional referendum. Whether
we accept that referendum and the constitution or not, the
constitution has been enacted and has been recognized by the
international community. And because it is in force, this
presidential election is different from all others because the
president to be elected this February will not have the authorities
that the previous presidents had. The new president will not be able
to dissolve the National Assembly [parliament], if he wants to do so
he has to get the consent of the prime minister and the speaker of
parliament. I am surprised by the promises some [candidates] give. If
you are not in control of the cabinet, and have no majority in
parliament, why are you promising?

[Question] Do you mean Ter-Petrosyan’s programme?

[Stepan Zakaryan] Him too. If he calls them a plutocracy, if those
people are criminals, how is he going to work with them? If he is not
going to work with this cabinet and parliament, then how is he going
to fulfil his programme? Does he count on unprincipled people and
adventurers, are those the people he counts on? It is very unlikely.
The other candidates too: I can’t imagine how they will fulfil their
programmes when they don’t have a majority in parliament and are not
going to work with the existing majority. If they are not going to
work, then they are only pretending. Are they going to do a
revolution? This is something different. But if we wish to be a
law-governed country, we are facing a controversial situation: only
the candidate that enjoys majority in parliament is capable of
carrying out fundamental changes in this country. The question is
does he want it or not. The other candidates are lying when they give
such promises.