Monday, November 6, 2017

Ruling Party Again Dominates Local Elections In Armenia


 . Karine Simonian
 . Nare Stepanian
 . Anush Muradian


Armenia - Residents of Achajur village vote in local elections,
5Nov2017.

Amid a continuing lack of interest shown by opposition parties, the
ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) dominated local elections
held in 69 communities across the country at the weekend.

More than 30 of those communities were only recently incorporated into
single administrative entities, each of them having previously
consisted of several villages. It was the first election of their new
mayors and local councils.

According to preliminary official results released on Monday, mayoral
candidates nominated or endorsed by the HHK prevailed in at least 37
communities, including more than a dozen towns. They ran unopposed in
several of those towns.

In another town, Goris, the Republican incumbent mayor was only
nominally challenged by a non-partisan candidate, Samvel
Harutiunian. The barely campaigned and did not even cast a ballot on
election day. Speaking to RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am),
Harutiunian called the Goris vote a "charade" and accused the HHK of
again abusing its administrative resources.

The HHK dominance was so strong that in some communities members of
the party headed by President Serzh Sarkisian challenged each other.

The HHK's junior coalition partner, the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), fielded three candidates in the local
polls. Two of them were reportedly elected heads of rural communities.

Armenia's second largest parliamentary force, which is led by
businessman Gagik Tsarukian and claims to be in opposition to
President Sarkisian, had only seven mayoral candidates. Three of them
won in their respective communities.

None of the other Armenian opposition groups chose to join the
electoral race, reflecting their lack of financial resources and
strong regional chapters. Opposition leaders have long claimed that
the outcomes of local elections are essentially decided by vote
buying, use of administrative resources and other irregularities.

The established opposition showed much stronger interest in municipal
elections that were held in Yerevan in April 2017 and Gyumri and
Vanadzor, the country's second and third largest cities, a year ago.

The opposition Yelk bloc monitored Sunday's polls through its
representatives sitting on election commissions. A senior Yelk member,
Davit Khazhakian, claimed on Monday that many voters were pressurized
or bribed into backing various wealthy candidates.


Armenia - A man in Odzun village appears to give guidance to an
elderly voter, 5Nov2017.
An RFE/RL correspondent reported from Odzun, a large village in the
northern Lori province, that many elderly voters were guided by other
individuals as they entered polling booths. Election officials there
said those voters claim to have eye problems and require "assistance."
"I just can't refuse to allow others to help them," said Suren
Papikian, the Yelk-affiliated chairman of one of Odzun's two precinct
commissions.

Barsegh Ayvazian, a non-partisan candidate narrowly defeated by the
incumbent community mayor, on Monday demanded a vote recount.

Tension ran high in the southeastern Vayots Dzor province where
another newly consolidated community comprising several villages
elected its new chief executive. Dozens of local residents blocked a
nearby highway on Monday in protest against the official vote results
that gave victory to an HHK candidate. They charged that the latter
won as a result of vote buying. The protesters were supporters of a
defeated candidate, who has run one of those villages until now.

One of Sunday's most competitive contests was in Achajur, a rural
community in the northern Tavush village. A 39-year-old owner of a
village grocery store representing the HHK defeated Achajur's
incumbent mayor and two other candidates. His rivals appeared to
concede defeat.

"This is a rare election after which there is no talk of vote bribes,
brute force or other coercion," the head of a regional election
commission in Tavush, Gagik Abovian, told RFE/RL's Armenian service.



Government Defends Caps On Social Spending


 . Astghik Bedevian


Armenia - Labor and Social Affairs Minister Artem Asatrian speaks in
the Armenian parliament in Yerevan, 6Nov2017.

Labor and Social Affairs Minister Artem Asatrian defended on Monday
the Armenian government's decision not to raise public sector salaries
and pensions next year despite a planned rise in its overall
expenditures.

The draft state budget approved by the government in late September
calls for over 1.46 trillion drams ($3.1 billion) in total
expenditure, up by 7.6 percent from the government's 2017 spending
target. Most of the extra spending would be channeled into various
infrastructure projects. By contrast, the 2018 budget would
practically not increase public spending on social programs.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetian and other officials have said that
increased spending on capital projects is a better way to ease
socioeconomic hardship as it would stimulate economic activity in the
country.

Asatrian echoed these arguments at a meeting with standing committees
of the Armenian parliament that focused on the draft 2018
budget. Their opposition members strongly criticized the government's
reluctance to spend more on salaries, pensions and poverty benefits,
which were most recently raised in 2015.

Asatrian insisted that the government cannot opt for more such rises
for now without additional borrowing that would only add to Armenia's
mounting public debt. "Raising pensions by just 1,000 drams would
require an extra 5 billion drams in spending," he said.

The opposition lawmakers were unconvinced, however. Nikol Pashinian, a
leader of the Yelk alliance, said stagnant pensions and salaries mean
lower living standards and greater poverty.

"The biggest impact on poverty reduction comes from economic growth,"
said Asatrian.

"This budget will not reduce poverty," countered Pashinian.

"The people's social plight is worsening," Gevorg Petrosian of the
Tsarukian Bloc said for his part.

Deputy Finance Minister Atom Janjughazian denied Petrosian's claim. He
said that unemployment in Armenia fell from 19 percent to 17.8 percent
in the first half of this year.

According to government projections, economic growth, which all but
ground to a half in 2016, will reach 4.3 percent this year and 4.5
percent in 2018.



Education Minister Hails Scrapping Of Draft Deferments


 . Ruzanna Stepanian


Armenia - Education Minister Levon Mkrtchian at a news conference in
Yerevan, 22Sep2017.

The upcoming abolition of most remaining military draft deferments
enjoyed by university students is fair and will not harm higher
education in Armenia, Education Minister Levon Mkrtchian said on
Monday.

Mkrtchian said the measure will also reduce corruption among officials
in and outside state-run universities who are in a position to make
male students eligible for government scholarships.

Such students have until now been allowed to perform two-year military
service, compulsory in Armenia, after completing their undergraduate,
graduate or post-graduate studies.

A government bill passed by the Armenian parliament in the first
reading late last month will largely scrap these temporary
exemptions. It will grant draft deferments only to those students who
will agree to undergo parallel military training and serve in the army
as officers for three years after graduation.

The measure was strongly criticized by the opposition Yelk
alliance. Lawmakers representing the bloc claimed that it will prevent
many students from becoming scientists or scholars. They said it will
also not stop the sons of many senior government officials,
pro-government politicians and wealthy businesspeople from dodging
military service.

The main official rationale for the bill drafted by the Armenian
Defense Ministry is that it will close a key loophole for evading
military service and reduce "corruption risks" among military and
university officials.

"This law will greatly eliminate the risk of corruption," agreed
Mkrtchian.

Mkrtchian also insisted that it will not hamper the development of
science and scholarship in the country. In an apparent reference to
Israel, he argued that science and technology has "peaked" in other
countries that have not had draft deferments.

Besides, he told reporters, "if we look at who has pursued and
obtained doctoral degrees [in Armenia] and how many of them have
stayed in science, we won't see a nice picture."

The minister also asserted that drafting some students and letting
others continue their studies uninterrupted is inherently unfair. He
argued that more than 80 percent of 18-year-old Armenian men enrolled
in state universities are already drafted to the armed forces just
because they have to pay tuition fees.

Critics say that students who have wealthy or influential parents will
find other ways of evading draft.

The bill will likely be debated in the second and final reading next
week. If passed, it will come into effect in January 2021, meaning
that it will not apply to students who have already been granted
deferments.



Press Review


(Saturday, November 4)

"Zhoghovurd" is unimpressed by President Serzh Sarkisian's calls for
Indian companies to invest in Armenia and take advantage of the
country's membership in the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU),
which he made during a working visit to New Delhi. The paper argues
that EEU member states like Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are
geographically closer to India than Armenia. "Besides, there are no
transport routes to Armenia," it says.

"Haykakan Zhamanak" looks at implications of the November 1 meeting of
the Iranian, Russian and Azerbaijani presidents held in Tehran. The
three leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a North-South corridor
that will boost rail communication between them. The paper alleges
that this corridor is "rendering meaningless" Armenia's ambition to
serve as a transit link for cargo shipments from the Persian Gulf to
the Black Sea. It says the Armenian highways stretching from the
Iranian to the Georgian borders, which are now undergoing major
repairs, will be underused. "Most of the traffic will pass through
Azerbaijan's territory,"

"Zhamanak" quotes Vartan Yeghiazarian, a deputy chief of the national
police service, as saying that that the law-enforcement agency will be
directly subordinate to Armenia's prime minister after the country
completes its transition to the parliamentary system of government in
April. The paper wonders whether that statement made on Friday was
coordinated with President Serzh Sarkisian. It says that a prime
minister directly controlling the Armenian police would have greater
political clout. "For which prime minister is that [change of
subordination] being done?" it asks.

"Aravot" carries an editorial on upcoming local elections to be held
in mostly rural communities across Armenia. "Hardly anyone doubts who
will win those elections," writes the paper. "Opposition parties
decided not to enter the fray. `Good guys' from [Gagik Tsarukian's]
BHK will win in several communities, while Republican `good guys' will
make up the vast majority of town and village mayors. The names of
parties are absolutely unimportant # Even so, the opposition's
non-participation is weird. That fact testifies to not only a lack of
money or regional chapters but the laziness and indifference [of
opposition groups.] Yes, it is almost impossible to achieve success
[in Armenian local elections] but not trying to do that, not
communicating with citizens is a wrong tactic."

(Elen Chilingarian)


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org