A former member of the Heritage Party about the nominations of the Heritage Party for proportional and majoritarian representation.
“I have never treated the issue from the perspective of being pleased or not pleased. The important thing for me is that generally, the team and the so-called political team are presentable, which the public trusts and which are competitive. In that regard, the Armenian National Congress (ANC) list for proportional representation suffices me. I am pleased with the list, because there are people on that list, who have political weight, who have proved during the past four and a half years their adherence to principles in terms of uniting around issues, which have been stated and have already become a certain motto, and solving those,” Zoya Tadevosyan, a member of the ANC and the coordinator of the People’s Rule socio-political initiative, said in response to Aravot’s question whether she was pleased with her place on the ANC list, since the alliance’s list for proportional representation had been revealed at the very last moment and many people on the list had found out, in which places they were along with journalists.
Let us remind that Lyudmila Sargsyan, the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (SDHP) chairman, Manushak Petrosyan, the former director of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, and Zoya Tadevosyan were candidates for the 6th place on the ANC list. Consequently, the SDHP chairman has become the “first lady” on the list for proportional representation. Zoya Tadevosyan is in the 16th place on the ANC list and Manushak Petrosyan is in the 11th place.
Zoya Tadevosyan trusts the ANC team, she hopes that they will be able to prove also to the public in the upcoming election that they are united, decisive and will be those who will restore the constitutional order in this country. Comparing “top 20” of all parties, our interlocutor has learned the “messages” sent to the public. “If one says ‘Let us hope to change,’ I think that they should have begun the process of believing with the list, in order that the people may also be convinced and have expectations for change,” our interlocutor says, adding, “It is not a list to believe. Whom shall we believe? I even feel uncomfortable to talk about certain persons whom I not only don’t believe, but also wouldn’t like to see in the parliament, because the parliament is not a place for show. The parliament should have proved long ago that it is the union of the intellectual part of the society that should carry out a mission trusted by the people, should contribute to the country’s development passing bills and showing professional discipline. I am convinced that there are no such people on that list. The RPA list doesn’t let one believe, let alone trust.”
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In response to Aravot’s observation that the RPA list is the main target of critique, whether the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) and the Rule of Law Party (RLP) lists were flawless, Ms. Tadevosyan noted that they were similar, “I don’t want to discuss them separately, because they are members of the coalition and they established working style of fighting against these people jointly long ago. We know every one of them, moreover, today on this tomorrow on another list. Therefore, there is no difference. They are different lists of the same team.”
Aravot also inquired why they had been no consensus reached between the main oppositionists – the ANC and the Heritage Party – in this election at least in terms of nominations for majoritarian representation. Let us note that in a set of electoral districts for majoritarian representation the ANC, the Heritage Party and the RPA or the PAP candidates will compete – the most striking example is no. 7 electoral district that includes Malatia-Sebastia neighborhood, where Raffi Hovhannisyan, the leader of the Heritage Party, Nikol Pashinyan, the editor-in-chief of Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper, from the ANC and Samvel Alexanyan, a non-partisan businessman nominated by the RPA, will compete. Why did the establishment manage to come to an agreement and the oppositionists did not? Doesn’t it mean that the establishment’s candidate has won from the beginning, since the oppositionists will “take votes away” from each other? Ms. Tadevosyan responded, “I consider the lack of consensus as follows – if the RPA, the PAP and the RLP lists are three different lists of the same team, the one you have mentioned aspires to be the fourth one. There are names on that list that prove that. Fortunately, we know everyone and we haven’t believed false promises under some cover since long ago. Let them shade that cover more, in order that the reality may not be seen. We know everyone individually and all of them together – I know all of them together as a team. We know quite well, we will not be deceived anymore.”
NELLY GRIGORYAN
