Armenian official calls for people’s right for power change

Armenian official calls for people’s right for power change

Arminfo
1 May 07

Yerevan, 1 May: The Communists’ idea to return power to people has a
new follower, which is the National Democratic Party of Armenia
[NDPA].

"Many politicians say that the power belongs to the people. I
categorically disagree with this, as currently the people have no
ability to protect their rights legally. This is why the objective of
our party is to change the situation radically." A member of NDPA and
the head of the department of ethnic minorities and religious affairs
under the Armenian government, Hranush Kharatyan, said this at a news
conference today.

She said that the people must have all the rights not only to withdraw
a newly elected parliament but also a formed government, in the case
if it does not fulfil the promises it gave before the
election. Kharatyan said that there is need for a periodic meeting
between the elected people and voters, during which they [elected
members] will fully report on the work done. "This will allow Armenian
politicians to treat their obligations with greater responsibility,"
she said. Kharatyan also spoke about the perspectives of the NDPA in
forthcoming parliamentary election [on 12 May], and said that she
considered the talks that her party fights for the minimal five per
cent, needless.

"At the moment, any party having less than 10-15 members says that it
does not lose hope of having a high percentage of votes. I can say
that in this issue we are not an exception either. Besides, I am
certain that our party’s work of many years is a sufficient basis for
voters to vote for us," she said and added that she did not think the
NDPA is a party, the manifesto of which remains on paper. "The main
issue of the opposition is the endless call for a change of
authorities, meanwhile, unfortunately forgetting about the manifesto
that will work if the authorities change. I think that such lack of
ideas and ‘dependency on words’ is the main shortcoming of the
country’s opposition forces," Kharatyan said.