The Freedom Party has made a proposal to the Green Party of Armenia to participate in the Yerevan City Council election with a common list. The two mentioned parties are members of the Armenian National Congress (ANC). Before the presidential election, the Freedom Party stated that it suspended relations with the ANC. Although the ANC didn’t endorse any candidate for president, the Green Party of Armenia endorsed the candidacy of Hrant Bagratyan, the leader of the Freedom Party, for President of the Republic of Armenia. www.aravot.am inquired during a conversation with Hrant Bagratyan’s press secretary, Karine Harutyunyan, at what stage the negotiations were and what the purpose of participating in the Yerevan City Council election with the Green Party of Armenia was. K. Harutyunyan said the following: “I cannot say anything official, since Hrant Bagratyan is absent from the country. He will be back in a week, we will start discussions, and many things will be clear then, and the party will make a statement. As for the purpose of uniting, let me state that the Green Party is an environmental party, and its activities are known quite well in Armenia, therefore, I think that the cooperation will be effective.” We inquired of Armenak Dovlatyan, the leader of the Green Party of Armenia, whether they had decided that they would accept the Freedom Party’s offer or not. He also stated that they were waiting for H. Bagratyan to return and added: “There are various issues, which should be clarified. When Bagratyan returns we will make the final decision. We have clear approaches, around which it is worth unifying. And as a result of unification, possibilities increase.” In response to our observation why they didn’t join R. Hovhannisyan’s movement and why the opposition camp hadn’t united so far, Mr. Dovlatyan said: “This issue hasn’t been discussed yet. There are different negotiations and meetings; therefore, the opposition camp may unite at a certain point. Nothing’s impossible; it may happen too.” While talking about the prospects of victory, A. Dovlatyan related it to the quality of the election and stated: “Everything depends on the quality of the election; whether it will be a quasi ‘free’ and ‘fair’ election, as the presidential election or we will have a really normal election.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
