YEREVAN. – There are several factors as to why the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) Party received low number of votes in the capital city Yerevan Council of Elders election that was held on May 5.    

Opposition Social-Democratic Hnchakyan Party (SDHP) Chairwoman, ANC bloc MP Lyudmila Sargsyan stated the aforesaid at a press conference on Tuesday.  

In her view, on the one hand this was due to the fact that ANC leader, First President Levon Ter-Petrosyan did not run in the recent presidential election. On the other hand, it was because of the ongoing emigration, since the protesting masses—that is, their supporters—are leaving the country. And the third is the money factor because, as a result, all undecided voters cast their ballots under the influence and fear and money.

“Elections do not exist [in Armenia]. There is money, [and] money brings power. In reality, it was an election of money. The authorities reproduce every time. Had they lived well, the citizens would have been able to make a choice,” Sargsyan said.   

The opposition MP also expressed bewilderment as to how the ruling Republican Party was unable to receive in Yerevan, during the presidential election, as many number of votes it garnered in the Yerevan municipal voting.  

“Everything was predictable. The people did not have a chance to make a choice, or to express a free will,” Lyudmila Sargsyan noted.           

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am