Even If Heritage Is Not Elected To Parliament

Heritage Party which refused to join the joint headquarters to monitor elections made a noteworthy step which, however, did not receive a proper evaluation. Maybe because the subsequent comments were not adequate to this step, but most probably the party itself is still unable to break away of the context.

Heritage refused to join the headquarters because it does not want to sit around the same table with the Prosperous Armenia which is violating the Election Code by way of election charity and is using all the methods that are inconsistent with free elections.

Heritage did not spell it out openly and invented some other excuse. First, it stated that the party leaders refused to sign the agreement but this argument is not very convincing. Later, Stepan Safaryan stated that he does not want to cooperate with the headquarters whose activities promote Robert Kocharyan.

Although no one argued with them, the society obviously needs stronger arguments. And the party needs to tell the truth about its reluctance to cooperate with the PAP which is an inseparable part of the ruling regime and Gagik Tsarukyan an oligarch just like Samvel Alexanyan and the others.

The party, of course, may lose support of some of its potential voters, also it may not be elected to parliament but it will do an important thing – it will show an example of rejection of dishonest campaign deals. Even if Heritage does not enter the parliament, it will win in any case because it will uphold fair elections. Moreover, if Heritage does not appear in the parliament, it will mean that elections have again been planned beforehand by the president administration or this time maybe by Kocharyan’s office or jointly.

But the most important thing is to keep to this track - to abandon the principle “the end justifies the means” and not to seek for parliament at any cost, violating the enunciated principles. As of now, personal characteristics or the inability to abandon the system of political intrigues hinder the parties. Heritagemakes mistakes, of course, but if it remains clean and explains to people its position, it will create a good precedent.

We can understand the other opposition leaders as well. For example, Levon Ter-Petrosyan says that the important thing now is to go to the parliament, and there they will work so that the government will not be able to relax. This is also an option but it is unlikely that Ter-Petrosyan can plan all the possible scenarios. It is unknown whether the Congress will be able to work in the parliament as effectively as the Heritage.

Whatever it is, the change of the purpose of opposition parties who first talked about fair elections and then switched (by Oskanyans’ and not Ter-Petrosyan’s hand) to elimination of the monopoly of the Republican Party was a departure from the general principle - the formation of government by the free will of the people.