YEREVAN. – The question of Davit Shahnazaryan leaving the opposition Armenian National Movement (ANM) Party is not discussed within the Party, ANM Council Executive Secretary Vahagn Hayotsyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.   

In his words, they do not expel people from the Party and there is no issue of expelling Shahnazaryan from the ANM; such thing was not discussed. 

“He could be an ANM member, but not an [opposition Armenian National Congress] ANC [bloc] member. Our party members are free [to make their choices],” said Hayotsyan.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, Davit Shahnazaryan left the ANC, he told RFE/RL Armenian service on Thursday.

“I left the ANC Central Office in March, before the [May 6 parliamentary] elections, and my political career in ANC is over,” Shahnazaryan said without telling the reason.

“As a result of the  elections, the picture of Armenia’s domestic policy changed completely. Before the elections there was a bipolar political system in Armenia—the government was on one side and the opposition was on the other. After the elections a change occurred in the opposition pole, where Prosperous Armenia Party took the place of ANC and it calls itself an alternative force.

Besides, Prosperous Armenia—which stands atop the opposition pyramid—has the same level of legitimacy as the Government, or maybe a little bit lower, as it gave out bribes in a much more coordinated manner than the [ruling] Republican Party of Armenia,” Shahnazaryan mentioned.