Fair elections best dialogue between opposition, authorities - Demirchyan

PanARMENIAN.Net - Extraordinary elections are the only means to create new political culture and civilized dialogue with the authorities in Armenia, according to Stepan Demirchyan, chairman of People’s Party of Armenia.

“Conduction of free elections is the best dialogue,” member of the opposition Armenian National Congress member told a press conference in Yerevan.

According to Demirchyan, the vitality of snap elections is explained by the fact that “previous elections were marred and, furthermore, the current authorities have failed to resolve the pressing problems.”

Asked how long the opposition can wait for the authorities to satisfy their demands, he said the opposition “still has time but cannot wait long.”

Demirchyan also said that if current authorities win extraordinary elections, the ANC will accept these results.

From February 20, 2008, the Armenian opposition led by first president Levon Ter-Petrossian, who ran for presidency in 2008, but was not elected, held rallies in the central part of Yerevan, protesting against the election results. The protest actions resulted in unrest and clashes between the police and rally participants on March 1-2. According to the Office of RA Prosecutor General, around 200 people were injured, 10 people were killed, and over 100 people were arrested.

In May 2011, President Serzh Sargsyan offered the National Assembly to declare amnesty on occasion of the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s independence, the proposal being based on article 81.1.1 of the RA Constitution and article 90 of the law on National Assembly regulations. With a vote 91-0, the Armenian parliament approved the proposal for amnesty for 396 people to be released and 379 to have their sentence cut.

During a recent political council session, Armenian National Congress (ANC) named the composition of ANC delegation to negotiate with the authorities. The delegation includes ANC coordinator Levon Zurabyan, representative of the central bureau David Shahnazaryan, a member of ANC economic committee, the head of ANC structure in Malatya Vahagn Khachatryan, People’s Party of Armenia secretary Felix Khachatryan and deputy head of Armenian National Movement Samvel Abrahamyan.