March 1 was an everyday act of hooliganism?
Representatives of European countries will exchange the electoral experience of their countries for three days within the framework of the annual conference organized by the "Electoral Authorities of Europe" association entitled "Judicial Defense of the Electoral Right" being held in Yerevan.
The guests were welcomed by NA Chairman Hovik Abrahamyan. "Nobody wants to lose in the elections. Many people are very tempted to dispute the results of the elections whenever they lose in the political struggle. There can't be two truths when we talk about political parties and in these conditions, the judicial branch of government is the only body that can give a final and indisputable conclusion on the political parties competing against each other," said Hovik Abrahamyan.
It is hard to say how much the speech by the association's secretary general related to Hovik Abrahamyan's welcoming remarks, but Zoltan Totan started his speech by stating that the EAE is an independent, non-governmental organization.
"No government can have an impact on us, but we can't support every government in holding free and fair elections. Our slogan is: "Not the power of bullets, but ballots".
Hovik Abrahamyan broke the silence in the hall with his applause and left after one or two minutes.
A press conference was foreseen during today's conference headed by president of the RA Central Electoral Commission Gagik Azaryan. Taking into account that elections are accompanied with shootings, "A1+" asked Azaryan if the current authorities came to power through "bullets".
"I don't agree that our elections are held through shootings. Our elections are held normally. True, we do see some hooligan acts in some cases, but they are no different from other days when there are elections and votes when you look at in general," said the CEC President.
So, March 1 had nothing to do with the elections? Was it an everyday act of hooliganism? In response, Azaryan said:
"You said that you were going to ask one question. This is already the second question. Thank you."
