PRESS RELEASE
The Heritage Party
31 Moscovian Street
Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 10) 53.69.13
Fax: (+374 – 10) 53.26.97
Email: info@heritage.am; office@heritage.am
Website:

23 March 2009

Heritage’s Statement on the May 31 Elections for Yerevan’s Council of Elders

The Heritage Party,

— reflecting the profound significance of the elections for the Council of
Elders of Yerevan, and in terms of the institutional development of Armenia;

— considering these elections as yet another chance for the country to be
endowed with legitimate representation in the Armenian capital, chosen by
the people through free, fair, and transparent elections;

— bearing in mind Yerevan’s central role as the political and economic
capital of the country, which only elevates the elections for the Council of
Elders to a significance nearly equivalent to national elections;

— remaining true to its adopted values, ideals and ethics;

— expressing with regret that it was impossible to a forge an accord with
the Armenian National Congress (ANC) with respect to a united list of
candidates for the elections;

— condemning the authorities’ limitations and restrictions on the freedom of
speech, the continued maintenance of an environment of intolerance, the
unsubstantiated and unfair accusations lodged against the Heritage Party and
its founder Raffi K. Hovannisian disseminated over the years by the media in
service of questionable motives on behalf of the authorities, including a
deluge of lies, misrepresentations and disinformation which periodically
grows worse especially prior to elections, as well as registering–for the
record–certain opposition media’s attempts to imitate such defective and
destructive tactics in recent weeks and doing this with the silent support
or complicity of the ANC;

— acknowledging all too well that if, within the circumstances of the
negative political atmosphere now reigning in the country, the opposition
participates in the elections with two separate lists, the ensuing clash
will become inevitable and unavoidable, and the victims will encompass the
whole opposition and the entire population; and

— understanding that under such conditions one of these two oppositional
forces must give way,

Hereby decides:

To refrain from presenting its own candidate list for the elections for
Yerevan’s Council of Elders, to be held on May 31, 2009, and urges its
voters and all Yerevan residents to cast their ballots in favor of the
opposition.

The Heritage Party further reaffirms its resolve, as the INDEPENDENT PUBLIC
OVERSEER, to:

— wage an all-out effort to safeguard the integrity and protect the sanctity
of the ballot of each and every citizen, and through its activities and
those of the election commission members that it has appointed, to prevent
all attempts toward falsification or interference with the distribution,
handling, and counting of ballots, and to ensure an equal and unobstructed
pre-election campaign period, thereby seeking to guarantee a free, fair, and
transparent contest and, as a result, attaining legitimate elections; and

— monitor the entire election process, and to record and inform the body
politic and the appropriate law enforcement bodies of any and all cases of
election fraud or voting irregularities.

The Heritage Party wishes all voters and political forces well and expresses
its desire for a free and fair election. Let the will of the Yerevan
residents triumph on May 31 and the citizens of the three-millennia-old
capital of Armenia finally attain the blissful liberty that is anchored in
the God-given right to choose.

23 March 2009
Yerevan

Founded in 2002, Heritage has regional divisions throughout the country. Its
central office is located at 31 Moscovian Street, Yerevan 0002, Armenia,
with telephone contact at (374-10) 536.913, fax at (374-10) 532.697, email
at office@heritage.am or info@heritage.am, and website at