David Shahnazaryan puts in doubt legitimacy of upcoming parliamentary  elections

ArmInfo. Former Minister of National Security of Armenia, former member of the governing board of the opposition party "Armenian National Movement",  and currently an MP candidate from the ex-ruling Republican Party (RPA), believes that  the upcoming elections do not promise anything good for the RA,  because internal political stability will not be established.

According to Shahnazaryan, the results of the December 9 elections  will at best reveal public sentiment at that time. "Everything is  changing so rapidly in Armenia, that the political mosaic of the  country will be completely different after 1-2 months," he said.

Nevertheless, today David Shahnazaryan puts in doubt the legitimacy  of the parliamentary elections. "The holding of parliamentary  elections is the result of the decision of one person, which was  imposed on our society," he stressed.

At the same time, according to Shaznazaryan, the RPA took two  important steps for the benefit of Armenia.  First, the peaceful,  velvet revolution, according to him, is the exclusive merit of the  RPA, which did not go to the bloodshed, and not the ruling political  team. This gesture of goodwill, Shahnazaryan believes, deserves  respect, and should not be taken as a weakness. Secondly, he  continued, even before the appointment of the elections, he met with  the leadership of the RPA. During the meeting, he asked whether the  Republican Party will take part in the "imposed election." "The  answer was this - if we do not take part in them, then their  legitimacy will be extremely doubtful, and this is very dangerous for  today's Armenia.  You can't underestimate this step," the former head  of the National Security Ministry said.

Today, according to David Shahnazaryan, the ruling regime and its  leader, in the first place, are already doing everything possible to  make the legitimacy of the upcoming elections questioned. According  to him, it was in these elections that the unprecedented use of  administrative resources was recorded. Nikol Pashinyan himself, as  noted by Shahnazaryan, decided to go on vacation during the campaign  only after he was explained that otherwise it is against the law.

In addition, according to the candidate of the RPA, throughout the  entire history of the country's independence, Armenia has never faced  such serious challenges. It was under the current government, as he  pointed out, that serious damage was inflicted on the authority of  the state and the law enforcement system, in particular. "The  government went on an unprecedented amnesty, which world history did  not know," he said, expressing disagreement over the principles and  mechanisms of its conduct. As a result, as Shahnazaryan noted, today  the Armenian Police are weak and degraded as never before. He urged  the Head of Police Valery Osipian to think about this.

According to Shahnazaryan, as a result of Nikol Pashinyan's various  statements, both on internal political issues and foreign policy, the  ruling regime today is aware that it does not have the support of  70-80% of the population. "The recent march organized by the My Step  bloc is evidence of this," he said, pointing out the small number of  its participants.

To recall, the list of candidates for deputies presented by the  Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) to the Central Election Commission  is a proportional one. "The RPA is headed by RPA First Deputy  Chairman, former Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan, Deputy Speaker of  the dissolved parliament Arpine Hovhannisyan and David Shahnazaryan.  They are followed by Vahram Baghdasaryan, Armen Ashotyan, Eduard  Sharmazanov, Menua Harutyunyan and Karine Hachemyan.