The mayoral election in Yerevan ended. Although almost everyone is sure that there were serious election bribes and as serious electoral fraud, this fact doesn’t deprive us of the possibility and right to analyze the given election. Always keeping in mind the fact of election bribes and electoral fraud, we can assert that the winners of this election didn’t win, but the losers lost, nonetheless. Moreover, their share of the blame in their defeat is considerable and obvious.
Let us begin with the Armenian National Congress (ANC). Although from the perspective of rejuvenation the ANC list was the most praiseworthy and preferable, from another perspective the ANC had poor chances to achieve success with that very list. The thing is that Pan-Armenian National Movement (PANM) that was renamed ANC lacks the figures (A. Zurabyan, H. Bagratyan, D. Shahnazaryan, A. Arzumanyan, N. Pashinyan, K. Rubinyan and others) who would certainly have ensured many votes for the ANC in the capital, regardless of the fact that an alternative ANC emerged in the pre-election period, and many voters could be confused, and under those circumstances it would have been preferable if not necessary for the ANC to have Levon Ter-Petrossian personally top the list. Then the ANC election campaign basically consisted of propaganda against Taron Margaryan, which made an impression of monotony, and even the references to Taron Margaryan’s ten million, which he hadn’t declared, were not impressive, because our people who do not lack imagination measure the wealth of our powers that be not in the millions, but in the billions. Furthermore, only the apartment furniture of figures who never become the target of the ANC will be worth more than ten million dollars. Certainly, robbery is obvious, moreover, many people’s robbery is obvious, but the danger of Taron’s ten million is also obvious,
because following Taron’s example, Taron’s fellow party members, comrades-in-arms, and opponents will not declare even one thousandth of their property from now on. I think that the ANC’s election campaign should have mostly and primarily been based on the work done by Vahagn Khachatryan who had been the mayor before that. We have dwelled on the ANC, because the ANC is radical opposition whether we like it or not, and it would have been desirable, if they had participated in the city hall’s work too. At first sight, Armen Yeritsyan from the Rule of Law Party (RLP) seemed to carry out a smart and skillful campaign, but we know from past experience that it is by no means enough for a party that is part of the government. Anyway, the RLP and Yeritsyan personally will continue to cooperate with the government, contenting themselves with what they have got. The Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) has no particular reason for discontent.
That party led by Tsarukyan regained the honorable second position. Even the Heritage Party and Raffi Hovhannisyan have no reason for discontent. After spring amazement and tension, they have retaken their real position. Certainly, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) will be discontented inwardly, but it will not show particular discontent outwardly, considering some city council election less important for it than national issues. In a nutshell, the wolves are sated, and the sheep are basically intact and equally sated. Including the Mission Party.
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Voskan YEREVANTSI
