Heritage party won't present candidate list for Yerevan's Council of Elders elections
Heritage opposition party issued the following statement on the May 31 elections for Yerevan's Council of Elders:
"The Heritage Party,
· placing a huge importance to the elections for the Council of Elders of Yerevan, in terms of the institutional establishment of Armenia;
· considering these elections as yet another chance for our country to ultimately form in the Armenian capital - and by way of free, fair, and transparent elections - legitimate authorities who are chosen by the people;
· bearing in mind Yerevan's growing importance for the country and that this importance makes the elections for the Council of Elders become, to some extent, equivalent to the national elections;
· remaining true to its adopted values and work ethics;
· expressing with regret that it was impossible to reach an accordance with the Armenian National Congress (ANC) with respect to a united list of candidates for the elections;
· condemning the authorities' limitations put on the freedom of speech and the ongoing firm establishment of an environment of intolerance, the "instructed" and unsubstantiated accusations against Heritage and its founder Raffi K. Hovannisian disseminated over the years by the media that serve the ruling administration, the deluge of lies and disinformation which periodically grows worse especially before elections, as well as registering - for the record - certain oppositional media's attempts to imitate the aforesaid defective mode of operation in the recent week and doing this with the silent support by the ANC;
· acknowledging all too well that if, under the condition of a low political culture reigning in the country, the opposition participates in the elections with two separate lists, the ensuing clash will be inevitable even in the case of exerting the greatest of efforts to prevent it, and the victims will be the whole opposition and the entire people, and they will assume the complete task of thwarting such likely confrontation; and
· understanding that under such conditions one of these two oppositional forces must give way,
hereby decides:
To not present its own candidate list for the elections for Yerevan's Council of Elders, to be held on May 31, 2009, and urges its voters and all Yerevan residents to cast their ballots in favor of the opposition.
Heritage also reaffirms its resolve, as the INDEPENDENT PUBLIC OVERSEER, to:
· wage an all-out battle to keep the citizens' ballots not tampered with and, by way of the election commission members it has appointed and through its activities outside those commissions, to prevent all attempts toward falsifying these ballots and thus to assist guarantee the creation of equal conditions all through the pre-election campaign - as well as throughout the period prior and subsequent to it - and in this way to attain free, fair, transparent and, as a result, legitimate elections; and
· monitor the entire election process, and to record and inform the body politic and the law enforcement of the cases of election fraud.
The Heritage Party wishes good elections to all voters and political forces taking part in them. Let the will of the Yerevan residents triumph on May 31 and the citizen of the three-millennia-old capital of Armenia finally attain a blissful liberty that is anchored in the God-given right to choose."
"The Heritage Party,
· placing a huge importance to the elections for the Council of Elders of Yerevan, in terms of the institutional establishment of Armenia;
· considering these elections as yet another chance for our country to ultimately form in the Armenian capital - and by way of free, fair, and transparent elections - legitimate authorities who are chosen by the people;
· bearing in mind Yerevan's growing importance for the country and that this importance makes the elections for the Council of Elders become, to some extent, equivalent to the national elections;
· remaining true to its adopted values and work ethics;
· expressing with regret that it was impossible to reach an accordance with the Armenian National Congress (ANC) with respect to a united list of candidates for the elections;
· condemning the authorities' limitations put on the freedom of speech and the ongoing firm establishment of an environment of intolerance, the "instructed" and unsubstantiated accusations against Heritage and its founder Raffi K. Hovannisian disseminated over the years by the media that serve the ruling administration, the deluge of lies and disinformation which periodically grows worse especially before elections, as well as registering - for the record - certain oppositional media's attempts to imitate the aforesaid defective mode of operation in the recent week and doing this with the silent support by the ANC;
· acknowledging all too well that if, under the condition of a low political culture reigning in the country, the opposition participates in the elections with two separate lists, the ensuing clash will be inevitable even in the case of exerting the greatest of efforts to prevent it, and the victims will be the whole opposition and the entire people, and they will assume the complete task of thwarting such likely confrontation; and
· understanding that under such conditions one of these two oppositional forces must give way,
hereby decides:
To not present its own candidate list for the elections for Yerevan's Council of Elders, to be held on May 31, 2009, and urges its voters and all Yerevan residents to cast their ballots in favor of the opposition.
Heritage also reaffirms its resolve, as the INDEPENDENT PUBLIC OVERSEER, to:
· wage an all-out battle to keep the citizens' ballots not tampered with and, by way of the election commission members it has appointed and through its activities outside those commissions, to prevent all attempts toward falsifying these ballots and thus to assist guarantee the creation of equal conditions all through the pre-election campaign - as well as throughout the period prior and subsequent to it - and in this way to attain free, fair, transparent and, as a result, legitimate elections; and
· monitor the entire election process, and to record and inform the body politic and the law enforcement of the cases of election fraud.
The Heritage Party wishes good elections to all voters and political forces taking part in them. Let the will of the Yerevan residents triumph on May 31 and the citizen of the three-millennia-old capital of Armenia finally attain a blissful liberty that is anchored in the God-given right to choose."
