YEREVAN. – The government must give some control functions to the opposition, Armenian MP, ARF Dashnaktsutyun member Armen Rustamyan announced during the rally on the Liberty Square in Yerevan.

Talking about the upcoming parliamentary elections of May 6 he pointed out that not only the powers but also the system supporting them must be changed.

“We had three presidents changing shifts but none of them refused to let go of the system which fed them. We must come and say. ‘You must go. But we must also eliminate the system which has been feeding you until now’.”

According to him, because of that ARF Dashnaktsutyun started the movement ‘Vote is power’.

“The most important right is the right to vote. Votes are our power and it is our duty to protect the power of each and every citizen. This is the only way the nation can come to power,” Rustamyan announced.

According to him, after the nation comes to power, the country must change to the parliamentary form of government.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Dashnaktsutyun is one of the oldest Armenian political parties. It was founded in the end of 19th century.

Following the Sovietization of Armenia in 1920, the ARF-Dashnaktsutyun was banned by the Communists and its leadership exiled. The ARF-Dashnaktsutyun officially re-emerged in Armenia after the collapse of the USSR, in 1990.

In June 2003, the party signed a coalition memorandum with the Republican Party of Armenia and Orinats Yerkir (Rule of Law). However, in 2009 ARFD left the coalition in protest against signing the protocols with Turkey. 

Party’s proportional list includes 85 candidates. Eight candidates will run for an MP seat with majority system. The party’s motto is ‘Freedom, Justice, Dashnaktsutyun.’