Violations and bribes at the May 6 parliamentary elections do not give any hope that the same image will not be repeated in the presidential election. Speaking about the upcoming presidential elections on February 18, said editor of “Agos” weekly newspaper in Istanbul Bagrat Estunkyan.
“The outcome of the election decided by 5-10 thousand drams. It is a pity and a shame. And in this election we are likely to see the same picture. The election results will always be doubted. Our country is far from being democratic. Every eve of election is a source of concern for us. We only pray that the elections to be held peacefully, no March events to be repeated, no clashes of the public with the police, no beating and fighting, “said Bagrat.
Speaking about political prisoners after March 1, Bagrat Estunkyan mentioned that even now there are political prisoners, and it is not surprising at all. “I regret to say that the Republic of Armenia since its first days is copying Turkey. The existence of political prisoners is not surprising to me, because now there are a lot of political prisoners in Turkey too. The political prisoners in Armenia are ANC convicted activists. But it is not surprising, just a pity.”
Estukyan also touched upon PAP leader Gagik Tsarukyan’s nomination and noted that this decision was expected. “In general, the presidential election in Armenia is a battle between the oligarchs. Rather than forming ideological alternatives, the alternatives of oligarchs are formed. Levon Ter-Petrosyan was not an oligarch. He was well prepared intellectual, but he also became a tycoon.”
