Eduard Sharmazanov: There will be no second round of parliamentary  elections in Armenia

ArmInfo.The second round of parliamentary elections will not be held in Armenia, as the Republican Party will, in the first round alone or with the partner,  get the majority and form the government. This opinion was expressed  in the conversation with the correspondent of ArmInfo by the vice  speaker of the Armenian parliament, Republican Party spokesman Eduard  Sharmazanov.

He considered the RPA post-electoral alliance with the ARF  "Dashnaktsutyun" party most likely, which, according to the forecasts  of the vice-speaker, will be presented in the sixth convocation of  parliament. "In addition to the RPA and the ARF, there will be a  "Tsarukyan" bloc in the parliament, there are three other forces that  can claim seats in the legislature, but now I will not name them",  Sharmazanov said.

Concerning the data of the latest opinion polls of the Russia Public  Opinion Research Center and the Hellap International, according to  which the RPA rating does not exceed 25%, Sharmazanov noted that this  is a normal starting indicator for the ruling party in any country,  and this indicator is a good response to all those oppositional and,  why not, marginal forces, which claimed that the rating of the RPA is  equal to "minus infinity". "I can say that on the eve of the last  elections the party's rating on similar opinion polls was even below  25%, but according to the results of the elections we were the first.  So, in this regard, we even raised our rating to the current  elections, which, incidentally, did not take into account many  components, for example, the votes of our rating candidates who will  also be added to the party's votes", he said.

Besides, the vice-speaker stressed, the poll was made before the  start of the election campaign, and according to its results, the  rating of the party over these days undoubtedly increased. "In view  of all this, I am sure that the RPA will receive an impressive number  of votes", Sharmazanov assured.

Concerning why Karen Karapetyan and the newly-made republicans, and  not the old-timers of the party, conduct Karen Karapetyan's election  campaign, he noted: "The reason why the pre-electoral campaign is  implemented by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan is simple - under the  parliamentary form of government, which our republic has transferred  to, Prime Minister, and we already stated that Karen Karapetyan will  be the head of the government in the event of the RPA's victory in  the elections, so it was decided to give him the opportunity to  communicate more with voters during this election campaign".

Commenting on the opinion that Karen Karapetyan is not associated  with the RPA, according to polls, his rating exceeds 80%, Sharmazanov  said: "Turning to 82% of Karapetyan's admirers, I must state that if  they want to continue to see him at the wheel Government, should vote  for the RPA, there is no other way.  Karen Karepyat, as a figure,  does not exist separately from the Republican Party of Armenia, we  are the only team headed and led by the President of Armenia, the  chairman of our party, Serzh Sargsyan".

As for the fact that according to the opinion polls Tsarukyan's  rating exceeds the RPA rating, the vice speaker noted that this was  not the rating of the Tsarukyan bloc, since, when these surveys were  conducted, the bloc, as such, de jure did not exist. "It was  Tsarukyan's personal rating, but if you compare this indicator with  the rating of Karen Karapetyan, then all the laurels go to us. In  general, I am skeptical about blocs in the Armenian reality, since  they are not formed on an ideological basis, and, as time shows, they  quickly disintegrate", he said.

Speaking about the disruptions during the electoral campaign,  Sharmazanov noted: "I do not think that the current electoral  campaign differs from the previous ones in this regard. Simply, based  on the specifics of the rating system of elections, a very large  number of candidates registered in these elections-more than 1600,  each of them has his supporters, relatives, acquaintances, and even  if some of them are involved in some incidents, it will look like  they are somehow connected with the elections. Despite this, I affirm  that the rating system of elections is the best for Armenia today,  and this is not just me, not only the RPA, but also the political  forces represented in the fifth convocation of parliament, including  the opposition, who on a consensus basis adopted the new Electoral  Code".