Opposition plants to raise new wave of outbreak
The opposition Armenian National Congress plans to start a new wave of protests in February, Congress Coordinator Levon Zurabyan told A1+.
Before the start of general elections, the opposition will actively support its candidate Sasun Mikaelyan during the February 12 mayoral elections in Hrazdan.
The Congress convened a session on Wednesday to discuss the format of its participation in the upcoming parliamentary elections and finalize its electoral list.
"These are serious issues which need a thorough discussion. Surely, the 18 parties affiliated with the Congress hold different viewpoints and our goal is to reach consensus on the diversity," said Zurabyan.
Speaking about the opinion that the international practice has proved the effectiveness of the majoritarian electoral system, the Congress Coordinator pointed out to the peculiarities of different countries.
For example, Italy has used the proportional representation system for a long time; as a result the party apparatus became corrupted, making the country switch to the majoritarian system. This led to the strengthening of corruption and formation of mafia groupings," he said.
According to Levon Zurabyan, the majoritarian system in Armenia helped the ruling party clinch a deal with local authorities; the latter enjoy the support of the leadership during a majoritarian race and, with the help of criminal groupings, election rigging and fraud, ensure the authorities' victory on proportional tickets.
"А symbiosis has been formed between the ruling party and local authorities and we need to destroy this system by switching to the proportional system. Regardless of their ideological orientation, opposition forces have united around this idea," said Zurabyan.
