Presidential Elections

[Harut]

is anyone following the events?

what are your thoughts?

any particular candidate you support? why?

[sen_Vahan]

It seems there are two strong candidates - Kocharyan and Demirchyan (the son) who have most chances.(this is just an apinion of people I talk to) Kocharyan promises to accept a law for double citizenship if he is reelected. Everybody being against the reelection of Kocharyan says Kocharyan will win anyway. He is being strongly "advertised" in Russia. I think to win the votes of Moscow Armenians he invited Moscow's Major Lugkov to Erevan and gave him some prize Now Moscow Armenians say that the attitude towards Armenians in the city became better (?). They say policemen are nicer now when stop them to check documents as usual.

What worries many people about this presidental elections is that what's going to happen with Artsax and its status if somebody but not Kocharyan is reelected.

[Azat]

Today’s issue of ArmeniaNow is dedicated to the Armenian elections. Few interesting articles are there.

 

http://www.armenianow.com/2003/february14/home/

[Outdoorgirl]

I guess this should be an interesting article for the ones who are interested in the upcoming elections.

 

Of all nine candidates vying for the Armenian presidency President Robert Kocharian has enjoyed by far the most extensive and positive media coverage during the first three weeks of campaigning, according to an independent media watchdog.

 

The first findings of a comprehensive monitoring conducted by the Yerevan-based Caucasus Media Institute (CMI) show that Armenia’s main television stations are particularly supportive of Kocharian and critical of his challengers. The state-owned Armenian Public Television and virtually all major private networks are controlled by the presidential administration.

 

“We can state that Robert Kocharian is the dominant actor in the media field and gets the bulk of election campaign coverage,” the deputy director of the institute, Mark Grigorian, told RFE/RL on Monday. “Not only in the form of news reports, but also analytical programs and commentaries.”

 

Grigorian, echoing numerous opposition complaints, said many TV programs featuring Kocharian are tantamount to election propaganda, something which is prohibited by Armenia’s law on broadcasting. Article 11 of the law stipulates that television and radio stations can not air “propaganda material” in the form of news reports, analytical programs or documentaries.

 

State television and other channels covered by the CMI monitoring have recently broadcast special programs casting the incumbent in positive light. One of them was meant to give Armenians rare insights into Kocharian’s personal life, featuring casual interviews with his wife and three children.

 

The only major channel that often aired criticism of Kocharian, A1+, was controversially shut down last April. The Armenian authorities assured the Council of Europe and Western governments that A1+ will be able to resume broadcasts on another frequency and cover the February 19 elections. However, they have still not held a long-awaited competitive tender for several frequencies.

 

Grigorian said although Armenia’s print media give a more diverse coverage of the campaign, they too pay greater attention to Kocharian. “Robert Kocharian remains the main election actor even if we look only at the opposition press,” he said.

[Outdoorgirl]

Though after some days it’ll be clear who will be the president of RA, it’s still interesting to exchange with ideas about the upcoming presidential election. Well, as everybody already knows there are mainly three strong candidates Robert Kocharyan, Stepan Demirchian and Artashes Geghhamian.

 

Robert Kocharyan=> Acting President of Republic of Armenia. In 1994, Robert Kocharian was elected the first President of Nagorno-Karabagh. His main political interest is the resolution of Nagorno-Artsax conflict. Russia strongly supports his candidacy. " Five more years, and the country’s face, standing and quality will change. And I call on you to build that country together [with me],” Kocharian

The Armenian leader is relying heavily on the so-called "power class," made up of senior civil servants, government-connected business people, and several loyal parties. They all have a vested interest in Kocharian's continued rule.

Sure, Russia will support Robert’s Candidacy after passing Armenia's state property (enterprises) to Russia to pay off our debt (the total amount of Armenia's debt to Russia equals $98 million). To me, he's done very few in the sphere of economics, no incentives for developing business and nothing done to minimize the corruption.

Stepan Demirchyan=> Robert’s Opposition leader Stepan Demirchian Stepan Demirchian, the leader of the opposition People’s Party of Armenia (HZhK). People primarily regard as the son of Karen Demirchian, the assassinated parliament speaker and Soviet Armenia’s Communist boss in 1974-1988. I guess they think that " ptux@ dzaric heru chi @nknum". He claimed Sunday to be heading for a victory in next Wednesday’s presidential election in front of tens of thousands of supporters in Yerevan that gathered for Armenia’s largest anti-government rally in years. He's being often crtisized for poor oratorical skills. I think he will win the first round, I am not sure about the second one though.

 

Artashes Geghamian: Artashes Geghamian is the outspoken leader of the center-left National Accord Party. Owing to his populist appeal, Geghamian made a strong showing in the 1999 parliamentary elections and is now seeking to represent the entire opposition in the February election. Geghamian indicated last summer that he will run for president even if he fails to rally other major opposition parties around his candidacy. He's being critised for demagogy.

 

You see, it is very difficult to choose a president from the ones listed above. I am sceptic about the potential of these candidates but I guess I'll vote for Demirchyan as he is Kocharyan's strongest opposition. And of course, I am sure that they will try to falsify the results as usual (this especially concern Robert Kocharian). So, we just try to take it easy here.

[takavor]

The political equation is:

5 years of political and social stability

+ continued economical growth

+ no concessions about Kararabgh (no land swap)

= Kotcharian

[Outdoorgirl]

Sorry for wrong information. There's gonna be the second tour of elections, as Robert Kocharyan didn't gather more than 50 % of votes.

[Outdoorgirl]

I guess everything's clear for now, Robert Kocharyan won the presidential elections.