During a discussion on the topic Local Election: Training for the National Assembly Election? Sargis Tamazyan, a member of the ANC, blamed the establishment for an intention to rig the mayor election that would take place in Hrazdan three days later and his opponent Hovhannes Sahakyan, a National Assembly Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) MP, reminded ANC that it had no candidate for the election in his native Spitak on the same February 12. Actually, someone had been put forward, but he withdrew his candidacy a week ago. Mr. Sahakyan explained that by the fact that the opposition had understood that it had no chance, since that candidate would have won very few votes and it would have had a negative impact on the ANC at the threshold of the National Assembly election and they had decided to withdraw the candidacy, in order that it wasn’t clear from the beginning what chances that political force had at the general election and they were able to assess the National Assembly election as “rigged.”
In response, ANC representative Sargis Tamazyan said that ANC was not obliged to take part in all local elections, “The Spitak office decided to put forward Andranik Nikoghosyan’s candidacy, but it reckoned that it couldn’t. Spitak doesn’t make any difference; I give the whole Spitak to you.” Furthermore, according to Mr. Tamazyan, “We decided that the struggle was pointless. Under this regime local elections are pointless, predetermined.” And then suggesting “to leave Spitak be and speak of Hrazdan,” he stressed “the importance, the significance of the Hrazdan election,” where Sasun Miayelyan had decided to “crack” the establishment’s criminal-oligarchic pyramid and he had the belief that it would be so.
