Sometimes I am under the impression that politicians and mass media, without making an agreement in advance, make up an issue, in order that both they and the society do something. If you go outside and ask through what election system the parliamentary election in Armenia should be held, through 100% proportional representation or mixed, I am sure the majority of our citizens (frankly speaking) will be very surprised and say “get a life!” and then will get to more burning issues – for example, they will show the signs at the gas station that clearly show that the gas price has increased by 10-20 drams.
However, in the so-called “political circles” and mass media they don’t talk about gas; that subject is too “small,” but they can debate on “majoritarian-proportional representation” day and night. By the way, they not only discuss which election system is more appropriate, but also why the Prosperous Armenia Party is for holding hearings on that issue. It is hard to say how crucial those hearings will be for the future of Armenia – hundreds of hearings have been held that led to nothing. What is the point in making a fuss out of it?
I don’t have sociological data, but I am convinced that democracy, fair elections and legitimacy of the establishment are not priorities for citizens of the Republic of Armenia either. I understand that our political forces might be insulted by such claim, but it is the bitter truth. The fair answer about those issues would be, “No matter who it is, no matter how it is, I just want to live a normal, hopefully, good life.” If the respectful parties blame people for wrong civic attitude, they will make a big mistake. Because few people care for subtleties of the political system not only in Armenia, but also in any other country. There are extremely non-democratic countries (for example, China) where elections are basically not held and where the normal standard of living is guaranteed, nonetheless. Some dissident intellectuals are not satisfied by that, but they don’t make any difference.
However, it is а fact that our country desperately needs democracy, legitimacy and fair elections. Probably it also needs 100% proportional representation. But the sad thing is that our political forces cannot clearly explain to the people why all that is needed.
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ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
