ArmInfo.On September 24, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashian congratulated the Armenian people on the direct connection on his Facebook page with an unprecedented victory in the elections to the Council of Elders of Yerevan held on the eve. He also touched on the allegations of "allegedly" low attendance of citizens and explained the need to form a new parliament.
According to Pashinyan, the past elections to the Council of Elders became exceptional, since for the first time a RA citizen voted without coercion and without financial temptations. "An Armenian citizen used his right to vote or not to vote in these elections, and thus make his choice," he said. He congratulated the candidate for the mayor of Yerevan from the block "My step" and the members of the Council of Elders from the same-name bloc, wishing them fruitful work for the benefit of the capital. Pashinyan also congratulated the candidates from the Prosperous Armenia Party and the Luys bloc with the fact that they will become part of the Council of City Elders. Pashinyan also said that Armenia should listen to the remarks of international observers in order to reform the electoral system. "We should have such an impeccable electoral system so that during the elections no one would have any questions, so that their results enjoyed the confidence of the voters," Pashinyan said. As for the talks about the fact that the majority of Yerevan citizens did not take part in the elections, their Pashinyan called "mildly ridiculous". In the elections held in 2017, as the prime minister noted, even in the conditions of using the administrative resource and electoral bribery, fewer citizens participated, while they were brought to the polling stations on Gazels and buses. In addition, as he pointed out, everyone knows that the current electoral lists do not reflect the real situation. "Many citizens left the country 20-25 years ago, but continue to stay on the electoral lists," he said. In addition, if earlier people of advanced age, sick and disabled due to electoral bribery were forced to come to the polling station and vote for a specific candidate, in this case they decided to stay at home, because they did not have previous obligations. "This all speaks about the need to improve the electoral lists," he said.
The prime minister recalled that these elections, among other things, had important political significance. "I asked the voters during the elections to the Council of Elders of Yerevan to vote for the" My step "block, thus giving the mandate to initiate negotiations with parliamentary and non-parliamentary forces for holding early parliamentary elections." I thank my fellow citizens for the given mandate, "Pashinyan said. At the same time, he highly appreciated the congratulations of his colleagues on "the political shop", who not only welcomed the results of the elections, but also wished success to the "My step" bloc.
According to Pashinyan, the results of the elections held on the eve of the election showed that the parliamentary forces represented in the current legislative body do not reflect the real moods of Armenian citizens and do not have the appropriate mandate from the people. In this regard, upon his return to Yerevan, he will begin consultations with a view to holding early parliamentary elections in order to understand the timing and mechanisms for holding them. "Political uncertainty hinders not only the development of the economy, but also the attraction of investments." The people should be given the opportunity to form a new parliament, a new parliamentary majority that the prime minister will choose, "he said, stressing that Armenia is on the eve of an important period.