Thread: Presidential Elections in Armenia

Well first off the election which is due on the 18th February may be postponed. First off one of the Presidential candidates, Andreas Ghukasyan, went on hunger strike on 21st Jan. Here he is pursuing his somewhat insane campaign;



Yep he's adamant about it... not going to change his mind but he's a bit too weak to campaign. The hunger strike is well tried political protest method, one of the other Presidential candidates, Raffi Hovannisian, did the same in 2011 in a form of 'Armenian spring' protests sparked by stall owners - similar to the Tunisian 'spark'. It's currently said that Ghukasyan may soon have to have to be hospitalised but this has not stopped him petitioning the electoral commission to “ban the use of the petitioner’s image and the dissemination of false information in the election campaign.” as pictures of the starving candidate were used in a video by the current President, Serzh Sargsyan, who will soon be re-elected.

Then on 31th Jan another candidate, Paruyr Hayrikyan who wasn't after the 'suicide vote' got shot. This actually looked like an amateur assassination attempt. He was shot in the shoulder though apparently two shots were heard. He was found by his neighbours and nobody has been arrested. So he was alone and the 'assassin' having fired two shots, missing with one, and seeing his victim unarmed and injured... flees. Hayrikyan is a former Soviet dissident and considered the most pro western candidate in the elections.

So one trying to die and another being warned... well a warning to all in reality. Hayrikyan could still petition the courts to delay the elections as could Ghukasyan, the point being that they're to 'ill' to 'campaign'. Well the truth is that shot one is better than the starving one;


Shot.


Self starved.

In reality there are only two serious contenders; the current President, Raffi Hovannisian (the former hunger striker and former Foreign Minister who was born in the US). Unless the opposition candidates cut a deal the current President Serzh Sargsyan is likely to win (fairly!). Well this may happen yet; "Armenian presidential candidate, opposition Heritage Party Chairman, former FM Raffi Hovannisian revealed what he and fellow candidate, opposition Freedom Party Chairman, former PM Hrant Bagratyan spoke about Wednesday while drinking tea at a hotel... [But] new information could come in very soon with respect to Hrant Bagratyan and Raffi Hovannisian because Mr. Hovannisian hinted that they will unite [forces]." Aravot - Armenia

The Freedom Party candidate is the would be victim of the assassination attempt, Hayrikyan.

The real question at stake is EU, from whom they willing to take money (my taxes!) and participate in various programmes and 'action plans' (which of course means the opposite of anything definable in English as action, see European Union - EEAS (European External Action Service) | Armenia) or the noveau Soviet 'Eurasian Economic Community'' (EurAsEC), which at present consists of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan (which is currently suspended but actually withdrew). While I personally loathe the EU I can't see much hope for a small country like Armenia reintegrating into a new Russian economic sphere, one of the main purposes of which is to support the decline of the Russian population (loss people from 145.2 million in 2002 to 142.9 million in 2010, but will write about this another time).