The elections of May 12 showed that the society said “no” to radical forces and the ones that had high level of nihilism. Yesterday this opinion was expressed by NA RPA faction member Edward Sharmazanov in Hayatsk Club.
Is the newly elected Parliament the “favorite” of the society? That is to say, do the five political powers that gained victory during the parliamentary elections fully convey social dispositions and wishes? Is cooperation possible between the parliamentary majority and minority or, as a tradition, will this time also opposition MPs be engaged in empty and heartbreaking speeches instead of doing legislative activity? Are they going to shout about the “illegitimacy” of the National Assembly for five years, while not refusing their mandates? Yesterday’s dispute between member of the Republican Party, Edward Sharmazanov, and secretary of “Heritage” faction, Stepan Safaryan, was on these issues. According to Sharmazanov, “The parliamentary staff, having been formed due to the elections, reflects the dispositions of the society. The citizens of Armenia said “no” to the extremist powers, to extremisms in policy, and to those who suffer from political nihilism. And it is not accidental that the pro-opposition parties, in the person of the “Heritage” party, that support constructive cooperation with the government, won the elections. Yes, today, those powers are involved in the parliament, which can work in favor of the Republic of Armenia. I believe that all types of criticism and ideological confrontations will never go beyond the limits of correctness.” The Republican MP also mentioned that he simultaneously refuses both shallow opposition and shallow authorities. “If the opposition is only engaged in cursing and never advances any constructive proposals, and for which the country’s benefit, national security, and other important issues are minor – it is a shallow opposition. And the authority that clings to minister portfolios and positions is a shallow government. That is why people must try to make the right choice to avoid both a shallow opposition and shallow authority.” The secretary of the “Heritage” faction insisted on the contrary, saying that the newly elected parliament is far from the mirror of the society. “Today’s National Assembly can’t express the dispositions of the whole society, as 25-30% of the society is not represented in the Parliament. Naturally, such a Parliament can’t be considered the mirror of society, no matter how much the international observers welcome the election returns. This parliament, by far, is not the one that the society has been longing for.” Nevertheless, it is still surprising why the “Heritage” party, though with delay, still received the mandates of their seven MPs. We failed to get any clear answer to the question from the secretary of “Heritage” party. Neither did we get any answer to the question of how “Heritage” is going to cooperate with the Republican Party, when Safaryan announces that the ‘elections were far not free and fair, that they were held in an atmosphere of fear. Doesn’t this mean that the strongest pro-government force is to blame for it? Anyway, he underscored concrete issues that are important for ‘Heritage” and said that they are planning to cooperate with the Republican Party to settle those issues. For example, the adoption of the law on “Repatriation”, the increase of pension and salaries, etc. To the question, “Was the announcement saying that 250 thousand votes have been “stolen” from “Heritage” party aimed at convincing the radical pro-opposition parties that the latter is not a false opposition?” Safaryan responded,” The number 250 thousand is not taken from thin air… it was not aimed at showing that we have a pro-opposition attitude; it was based on well-grounded calculations.” Though the calculations were “well-grounded”, “Heritage” didn’t appeal to the Constitutional Court. It became clear that it was senseless to appeal to the Constitutional Court separately “based on their poorer protocols”, which is why they came to the decision to hand this “poor” document over to “Republican” party and “People’s Party of Armenia”. It also became clear that the leader of “Heritage” party doesn’t have any desire to work in any of the Standing Committees in the Parliament. Ex-Foreign Minister Raffi Hovhannisian even refused to join the Committee of Foreign Affairs. Instead, he sent the secretary of the faction there. But he will head the faction.