Dickran Khodanian
Ahead of Armenia’s upcoming Parliamentary Elections on April 2, Armenia has witnessed the creation of new alliances, allegations of early campaigning, and several instances of violence linked to election campaigns.
And with the death of “the bringer of bread” Artur Sargsyan, and the
detainment of former Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh) Defense Minister Samvel
Babayan, the pre-election period has taken new turns.
Sargsyan’s death, which has led to protests
and multiple demonstrations in his honor, has only fueled more citizens
of Armenia who are discontent with the ruling regime, to join and
demonstrate in the streets.
Meanwhile, Babayan’s arrest
has been seen as a threat to the Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanian alliance, due
to their close ties with the former Defense Minister. In the midst of
all of this, a discredited former president has appeared on public
television announcing that Artsakh should concede territories and
compromise.
And now, based on the evidence of the Union of Informed Citizens
(UIC), election campaigns have been accused of targeting public schools,
specifically school principals.
However, on March 24, the UIC announced that one of its activists
posing as a senior Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) representative
telephoned the directors of 136 schools and kindergartens in and out of
Yerevan, and revealed that 114 of them admitted to drawing up lists of
students’ parents, as well as schoolteachers and staff, who promised to
support the RPA in the upcoming elections.
The UIC said that these lists were submitted to local government
bodies or RPA campaign offices. “We phoned all administrative districts
in Yerevan and all provinces,” the UIC’s Daniel Ioannisyan a news
conference. “More than 80 percent of school and kindergarten directors
admitted that they submitted such lists for the Republican Party and
gave details of those lists.”
Some of the longest lists included up to 1,700 names. This type of
list was found with the head of Gyumri’s secondary school No. 37.
Ioannisyan added that in this case, the school principal stated that the
Republicans were using various methods including intimidation to deal
with voters.
In another case, a dispute erupted in a village just outside
Stepanavan when a local principal suspected that there were staff
members who had been in support of a party other than the RPA, a source
told the Armenian Weekly.
“A whole series of exclamations ensued. [One] staff member said how
the accusations were ridiculous and that they would never do such a
thing, because they already know that they have to vote for the
Republican Party,” the teacher, who wished to remain anonymous, told the
Armenian Weekly. “The principal then continued to list reasons as to
why the staff member must vote for the RPA, while other teachers
reluctantly gave their own reasons.”
According to the teacher, the principal of the same school passed out
candy to students and staff with RPA campaign branded wrappers.
The UIC has published a list of all the principals involved with
creating election lists for the RPA. The list includes details and
recorded conversations with the principals of 84 schools and 30
kindergartens.
The RPA has since called this a “dishonest” way of discrediting RPA
supporters. In a written statement, the RPA did not deny that many
schools are campaigning for them but instead stated that “recruitment,
registration, mobilization, and identification of the potential
electorate” is part of campaigning.
On March 26, as a result of this news, the Office of the Prosecutor
General ordered a working group to study and analyze the published
report by the UIC.
The following day, the Armenia’s Education Ministry said that it will
be investigating the claims made by UIC. Deputy Minister of Education
and Sciences Manuk Mkrtchyan has requested that the school officials
involved in the UIC claim provide clarification.
In addition, the Ministry sent out notifications to all the governors
and mayors in Armenia, advising to take the appropriate measures to
prevent political propaganda within education institutions.
Meanwhile, the office of Armenia’s Ombudsman (Human Rights Defender)
announced that it is in the process of thoroughly studying and examining
the published records of the UIC.
The office of the Human Rights Defender reported that after
transparent investigation is conducted, it will make sure to follow up
to ensure that criminal charges are applied if necessary. The Ombudsman
has also reached out to the Central Electoral Committee (CEC) for
clarification regarding the matter.
With the election less than a week away, it will be interesting to
see how this latest controversy will play out—both before and after the
polls close.
"The Armenian Weekly," March 28, 2017
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