AS STEPAN SAFARIAN EVALUATES, ELECTION CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN MOVED TO FORCE FIELD
Noyan Tapan
Feb 11, 2008
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. The election campaign of the RA
presidential candidates proceeds in the atmosphere of unbalanced
coverage, intimidations and threats, and the "election campaign has
been moved to the force field" lately. Stepan Safarian, a member of
the RA National Assembly Zharangutiun (Heritage) faction, said at the
discussion organized on February 8 at the National Press Club (NPC).
According to him, the inequality of conditions of holding candidates’
election campaign is manifested in different ways. In particular, the
election campaign of the pro-governmental candidate, Serge Sargsian
is held at the expense of the state resources. And that, as the MP
affirmed, means that "for him, it is more beneficial to mix state
activity with the agitation, and not to present himself as a usual
candidate to the people."
S. Safarian also mentioned the fact of not objective coverage
of preelection meetings of candidates by the TV companies: all TV
companies in the most pointed way show the most unsuccessful moments
of the opposition candidates and the most successful moments of the
pro-governmental candidate.
Speaking about the positions of the West and Russia, the deputy said
that a balanced approach by both the West and Russia was observed
at first.
However, in the recent period it was obviously emphasized that Russia
gives preference to Serge Sargsian. According to Stepan Safarian,
the evidence of this is the latest visits of the RF state officials
to Armenia, during which Serge Sargsian finally agreed to be a
"pro-Russian candidate. And the West, judging by the publications of
the Gallup Poll authoritative analytical center, considers the Armenian
authorities incapable of achieving the settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh problem, power reduction, fighting corruption in the country.