YEREVAN. – Armenian News-NEWS.am presents Armenian First President and opposition Armenian National Congress leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s speech during the rally organized by ANC on Thursday.
“Dear compatriots,
I find it necessary to present my preliminary notions about the pre-election campaign, which is coming to its end.
1. Through the mass events, rallies and meetings organized in the regions by Armenian National Congress and other political forces were able to overcome the atmosphere of fear.
2. During the visits to the regions and the meetings with thousands of citizens we did not witness a single case when our criteria of the criminal regime and our disclosures did not find positive reflection in the souls of the listeners or anyone trying to counter them.
3. During the campaign we finally got assured that the ruling regime of the Republican and Orinats Yerkir parties does not have any votes among the nation and that yet another time the Kocharyan-Serzh regime hopes to come to power through administrative, power and criminal resources.
4. The campaign revealed another important truth – only three political forces are interested in conducting fair elections – Armenian National Congress, Armenian Revolutionary Federation and Prosperous Armenia Party, which is proved by their close cooperation in supervising the elections as well as their joint appeal to the Constitutional Court on one of the harmful points of the Electoral Code. Those political forces who speak badly about the initiatives and actions of the joint headquarter ultimately serve the interests of the ruling regime, or they are in backstage games and transactions with the ruling regime.
5. The most significant outcome of the election campaign in my opinion is breaking the stereotype that the parliamentary elections are less important compared to the presidential elections. During the rally of March 1, 2012 I had mentioned the following: ‘In Armenia’s case as a rule the nation unites and real competition takes place not during the parliamentary but during the presidential elections. Therefore, the primary task of the political forces is to overcome this psychological complex, and to convince the public of the importance of the parliamentary elections as a prerequisite for success in the presidential elections’. I think that due to the efforts of supporters of real changes this important idea and the real truth have finally been brought to the broadest segments of society and the fact that public interest has grown towards parliamentary elections proves this.
It is time to realize that the outcome of the elections depends on the active participation of the public, as it is clear that the more voters participate the harder the falsification of the results will be, especially on the account of voters who are absent from the country. The country’s future should not be decided by those who are indifferent and who have lost faith in elections, because only the citizen responsible for the state is able to create his destiny and demand responsibility from the government,” his statement read.
Armenian National Congress (ANC) is an opposition bloc founded in 2008 after presidential elections. During the August 1, 2008, rally in Yerevan the first President of Armenia and ANC leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan announced formation of the bloc. ANC comprises 18 parties and political forces.
ANC proportional list includes 119 names. It has also nominated MP candidates with the majority election system.
