Daniel Ioannisyan, chairman of the Union of Informed Citizens NGO, has suggested that opposition parties’ failure to nominate candidates in local government elections may be the result of pressure.
According to him, there is no other explanation for the ruling Civil Contract party’s uncontested participation in numerous communities, which he described as “North Korean-style.” He made the remarks in a Facebook post.
“Prime Minister Pashinyan is calling on all candidates and voters who have faced pressure during local government elections to contact him. He promises to publicly punish officials who exerted pressure if the allegations are substantiated.
“Nikol Pashinyan knows better than anyone that such things are always done very carefully. For example, according to a report we received, the governor of Armavir Province, while attempting to ‘persuade’ Razmik Ayvazyan, a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), not to run for mayor of Armavir, urged him to think about his newly conscripted son.
“But since the prime minister has also taken it upon himself to perform the functions of a prosecutor, I would like to remind him that he similarly promised to investigate and, if the allegations were confirmed, dismiss the principals of several schools who brought staff and students to a Civil Contract campaign rally in Aparan during the National Assembly election campaign.
“Now take three guesses as to how many of those principals have been dismissed… Despite the fact that an internal investigation confirmed that election campaigning had taken place at the expense of classroom instruction.
“And why did those principals remain in office? Because, presumably, they had received instructions from the mayor of Aparan. And the mayor of Aparan is a valuable vote-delivery operative for Civil Contract who will soon become the party’s candidate in Aparan.
“In general, it is obvious that opposition parties’ failure to nominate candidates in numerous communities is the result of pressure exerted on potential candidates. There is no other way to explain Civil Contract’s uncontested participation in numerous communities, in North Korean style.
“P.S. I will soon explain how, by pressuring just a few candidates, they manage to prevent an entire party from fielding candidates in a community (the devil is in the details of the electoral system),” he wrote.
In a Facebook video address, Pashinyan again discussed the upcoming local government elections and allegations of pressure by the ruling party on opposition representatives. He said Armenia must not allow democracy to be used to establish an anti-democratic system, urging strict adherence to democratic rules.
“I urge all of you not to deviate even a millimeter from the rules of democracy, freedom and legality. In fact, I am not urging you — I am instructing and ordering you. Do not deviate even a millimeter from the rules of democracy, legality and freedom. If there is any deviation, there will be a very harsh response, a disproportionately harsh response,” he said.
