People stop me in the street and ask who they should vote for. That question confuses me – calling for something contradicts my nature and it is hard for me to give advice. Gurus, saviors and apostles are so many in our life that surely there is no need for me in that group. I do this way or another, but I understand that it is my personal choice and I don’t urge or call on either my wife, or my children, or people, with whom I work, not to mention others to copy me. Elections are a particular case of it – here I can also say what I will do, not urging anyone to do the same.
I will vote against everyone – i.e. I will make my ballot invalid in one way or another. In 2007 and 2008, I voted for the Heritage Party and Levon Ter-Petrossian respectively. I will not do the same at this stage continuing to highly appreciate the first president’s contribution to building our state and freeing Artsakh. Let me also add that I agree to 70% of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) criticism of the establishment. However, at this moment, the basis of the Congress criticism is the following thesis “you stand either by the people or by the establishment” and certainly, the ANC embodies the people. As Vladimir Nabokov would say “Bolsheviks (i.e. public speakers) and I have esthetic differences.”
The Heritage Party is obsessed with the Bolshevik paranoia to the lowest extent. However, that party list has unexpectedly included people who are too far from liberalism and democracy and – which is essential for me – from my perceptions of journalism. I cannot vote for such a list.
You may ask why I generalize about the whole political force given my negative perception of a certain part of it. Imagine, a football club, whose central forward and the center midfielder, guess, are racists, they regularly make aggressive statements about black people. If the coach of that club and the club management don’t condemn such statements publicly, can I conclude that racism is encouraged in that club?
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As opposed to the Heritage Party and the ANC, other participants in the pre-election struggle are absolutely unacceptable for me and cannot be a subject matter in terms of casting my vote. That is the very reason why I will vote against everyone.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
