During a conversation with www.aravot.am today, Ruben Hakobyan, the deputy chairman of the Heritage Party executive committee, in response to our question whether in his assessment, President Serzh Sargsyan’s appearance in Mashots Park on last days of the election campaign was staged, whether it was election campaign PR, what it was, said, “What Serzh Sargsyan did was a requirement of the law. This was outstanding, because the government respects the law under the pressure of the people and enforces the provisions stipulated by the law. In this sense, the people were surprised. However, I am not surprised, there is just happiness, on one hand, that they have listened to the people’s demand at last and on the other hand, I am sad why should the people suffer so much, spend days in Mashtots Park, there should be skirmishes,
people should be taken to the police and a few days before the election it turns out, the President says that it shouldn’t be so, it is unpleasant.”
In response to a question whether the President had the right to interfere in the mayor’s affairs, Mr. Hakobyan said that the President had that right. In response to our observation that the Heritage Party was also often blamed for being engaged in such PR too, but according to political technologists’ assessment, the most successful PR of the Heritage Party was Raffi Hovhannisyan’s handshaking, whether he agreed with that, Mr. Hakobyan said, “Yes, we are beyond the standard. The standard that exists – they fill 20 buses and send them from Yerevan to Hrazdan or Ararat, they go and make very good speeches against the background of the people brought from Yerevan. I don’t mind, perhaps it is their political taste or perhaps it influences the people. We don’t need it, we just go and talk with people privately. For example, I am a candidate for MP through majoritarian representation nominated in no. 9 electoral district, yesterday I went to Noragyugh and entered apartments and houses of people. Now I don’t know, perhaps they would say that I am engaged in PR, what I do it for, we prefer this way of election campaign. It is a better, closer way of election campaign than organizing indiscriminate bus meetings.”
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
