The opposition exaggerates the Electoral Code's role in holding fair elections, Nikol Pashinyan, Armenian lawmaker, member of the Civil Contract Party, said in Parliament on April 28.
"The persons, who used to be high-ranking officials in the past, most of all complain about the electoral fraud, though they used to personally persecute activists, proxies, journalists, and delivered death sentences against peaceful demonstrators. They had no complaints when they were provided with cars, posts and money laundering opportunities. Now that they have been deprived of everything due to their own fraud, they have become fighters for justice," Pashinyan said.
He also advised Eduard Sharmazanov, Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, member of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) not to hurry to reproach such people, because it is not ruled out that in some 1.5-2 years, like ex-foreign minister of Armenia Vartan Oskanian, Sharmazanov might also speak of the fraud during the presidential elections of 2005, 2008, 2013, as well as at the constitutional referendum of 2015.
Pashinyan thinks that the Electoral Code is certainly an important document but its capacities are exaggerated, because it was the current Electoral Code that enabled the rigging of the constitutional referendum. At the same time, the mayoral elections in Hrazdan were held fairly due to the tough control, unless one takes into account the bribes.
He said that his party managed to defend all the votes given to it. In the meantime, Pashinyan stressed that there is a lack of public confidence in all political forces, mostly in opposition forces, which have repeatedly given promises but have broken them.
"During the elections in 2017, the citizens will vote for radical changes, but it will be hard for them to elect a worthy opposition," he said. In Pashinyan's word, the Civil Contract Party can become the only opposition force conducting an ideological fight. People should realize that they cannot sell their votes and then run to the Liberty Square and demand a revolution from the opposition, he said.
In response, Sharmazanov advised Pashinyan "to go slow to go fast" and not to make hasty forecasts about the parliamentary elections of 2017.