According to the information of www.aravot.am, the Armenian National Congress (ANC) has started to “work” with Hrant Bagratyan, a former Prime Minister and candidate for president, who has suspended his membership in the ANC political council, in order that the latter withdraws his candidacy. The ANC management board fears that the percentage Bagratyan will win in the presidential election will be exploited against the very ANC. Lyudmila Sargsyan, a member of the ANC management board and an ANC MP, said in this regard that if there had been such a process, she would surely have known about it, since she actively communicated with both the ANC and the parliamentary group. “No, there is no such decision, nor there is any work in that direction. Work had been done before Bagratyan announced his candidacy. It wasn’t work, but rather a gentlemen’s agreement that Bagratyan should wait for the president’s decision, which he himself violated. And I think that work is meaningless from now on. I am more than sure that this work will not yield results. Therefore, I don’t think that the ANC does that work. And if Bagratyan makes that decision, I will be only too happy about it and will express my respect for him.”
Today Hrant Bagratyan has made public his election program, which mainly includes the provisions of “100 Steps,” the ANC program. We inquired of Lyudmila Sargsyan what the ANC response to that would be. “It was during the holidays, the first meeting of the ANC headquarters was held yesterday, and this issue wasn’t discussed at that meeting. Certainly,
Hrant Bagratyan made a great contribution to ‘100 Steps,’ and I don’t rule out that he will use many provisions of it in his election program. I think it will be good, if he revises them and makes them more liberal, because ‘100 Steps’ were checked with all parties of the ANC, everyone expressed their position, making changes to the original, which had been put forward by Hrant Bagratyan. The ANC is a big institution, there are socialists, as well as liberals and conservatives, there, and since we are a united force, we tried to check it with others,” our interlocutor said.
Talking about rumors spread by the ANC youth on social networks, accusing Hrant Bagratyan of cooperating with the government, Bagratyan’s former comrade-in-arms who had been one of the first people to criticize his nomination said: “Our youth rushed a bit to express their opinions. I think that one should be more restrained with regard to that issue.” When www.aravot.am asked her whether Hrant Bagratyan might be offered the office of prime minister after the election, in her opinion, Lyudmila Sargsyan said that if he ended in second place, she didn’t rule out that he might be offered something. “However, I think he won’t be offered prime ministership, because Hrant Bagratyan’s personality, nature, character don’t correspond to the current government’s attitude. I don’t say whether it is good or bad, but, in my opinion, Serzh Sargsyan doesn’t need a prime minister like Hrant Bagratyan. Perhaps, it is expected, I can’t say, but I have this inner conviction that Serzh Sargsyan will hardly need a prime minister like Hrant Bagratyan.”
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In response to our question whether Hrant Bagratyan could aspire to second place, Ms. Sargsyan said the following: “I cannot say, because Raffi Hovhannisyan, as a political figure, has been on the political stage for a long time and has political experience; also, his team is bigger. Therefore, I cannot be certain about that. Let’s wait and see how much society trusts Bagratyan and Raffi Hovhannisyan.”
Nelly GRIGORYAN
