ARMENIAN REPUBLICANS EYE ‘ABSOLUTE MAJORITY’ IN NEW PARLIAMENT
By Hovannes Shoghikian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
April 11 2007
The governing Republican Party (HHK) is aiming for a landslide
victory in the May 12 elections that would earn it an absolute
majority in Armenia’s next parliament, one of its leading members
said on Wednesday.
The HHK has controlled at least 47 of the 131 seats in the outgoing
National Assembly, both through its official parliament faction and
the People’s Deputy group of lawmakers mostly affiliated with the
party. It has also enjoyed the backing of over a dozen other wealthy
deputies loyal to the government.
The HHK’s new chairman, Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, and other
senior Republicans have said until now that their aim is to win at
least as many parliament seats as they have had for the past four
years. But Galust Sahakian, the leader of the HHK faction in the
current legislature, went farther on Wednesday, saying that the party
is looking to single-handedly control the new assembly.
"We must now talk about having an absolute majority," Sahakian told
reporters. "That is not only what we but also the public and the
political field believe."
"Past experience has shown that we are the ones who bear responsibility
[for government policies] at the end of the day," he argued. "We
don’t dodge responsibility. Nor do we avoid the burden which we have
to carry."
The comments will likely stoke opposition allegations that the
Republicans and Sarkisian in particular are intent on winning the
elections at any cost, including massive vote rigging. The HHK,
which controls most of Armenia’s local governments and has vast
financial resources at its disposals, has been accused by them of
forcing public sector employees to join and vote for the party or
risk losing their jobs.
The HHK has dismissed the claims backed up by media reports. Its
powerful leader has assured the West that the upcoming vote will meet
democratic standards.