There is a big difference between the pre-term and the regular election

Is convinced the ANC representative Davit Matevosyan

In the round of discussions of the Election Code Amendments, one of which refers to the CEC and forming the election commissions, the government representatives put their back in convincing that the non-party commissions will only help hold freer and more just elections. But the skepticism that existed toward the election commissions, particularly the Central one, increased, as a result of the developments related to forming the new CEC. All the efforts made by the government representatives before that to ensure that we will hold better elections with the “improved” law vanished. “The current authorities formed a CEC that is an Azaryan one again with the new shameful code, never mind how it is praised. As a result of the independent forming method, we have a commission today, which has proved with its biography that it is going to serve the reproduction of the government”, shared his notion ANC representative, former political prisoner Davit Matevosyan yesterday. By the way, yesterday former and current head of the CEC Garegin Azaryan, in response to the journalists’ remark, accepted at the press conference that the attitude of the society toward the commission was basically negative and according to Radio Liberty, expressed an idea in this regard that the political forces, candidates participating in the elections did not assess their abilities correctly, predisposing the society. “We always have more than ten parties that take part in the proportional election and all of them, before even registering as a candidate, state that they have at least 65 percent of the votes (part of them hardly crosses the five-percent limit), when you add all of that, the sum is roughly 999 percent, but they taught us otherwise at school”, said Azaryan. In response to the question whether he does not see his partial fault in the public opinion formed toward the CEC, Azaryan said, “I see, of course, I cannot teach everyone what the election means and how it is held.” He also added, “A rigged election and riggings during an election are different things. I have not said that there are no riggings during elections or it is possible to rule out those. If there is anyone who can absolutely rule out riggings, I will give him my office with pleasure and I think that all the other members of the CEC will do the same thing.”
“Aravot” also inquired from Davit Matevosyan, in this case, if the election is even pre-term what the opposition claims, can the results of those be reliable? Our interlocutor remarked that in order to hold a free election the will of the authorities and the mood and attitude of the voters or the society were more important. Davit Matevosyan does not cherish hopes that the authorities in power will show a political will of holding a free election, but he thinks that in the case of a pre-term election the situation changes, “I am convinced that the difference of the pre-term and the regular election is substantial. In the case of a pre-term election not only the society supervision will be high, but also it is a matter of filling with hopes for the future. During a regular election the substantial part of the voters will hopelessly not go vote, will not trust the results of the election, and will not believe that a regular election can change anything in this country.” Our interlocutor perceives the pre-term election also as a psychological pressure on the authorities and does not think accidental at all that the representatives of different wings of the government constantly and from different rostra say that there will be no pre-term election, “They know quite well what it means.” However, notwithstanding the attitude of the authorities toward a pre-term election, Mr. Matevosyan advises to consider the latest period of the ANC-authorities relations, “On a few occasions, the authorities have said from different rostra that there will be no such thing, but at the end of the day they did it. Now, denying the possibility of a pre-term election, they do the ANC a good turn in respect that the society will understand from now on that the opposition is who demands it. Never mind that they deny it now, the authorities will be forced to go for a pre-term election.”