How are things at the parties' headquarters?
"A1+"'s reporters visited the pre-electoral headquarters of political parties of the National Assembly in central Yerevan.
Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK): "We don't answer questions"
It turns out that representatives of the BHK headquarters don't have the right to answer journalists' questions. It is one of their party's laws that has not been written. Head of the BHK headquarters stationed near the Public Radio, Ashot Aghazaryan said he couldn't answer questions because the main office of the BHK was in charge of that. Nevertheless, "A1+" tried to find out what kinds of issues residents raise. "There are cases when they come and ask for money, but we don't give any money. When they appeal to us with other issues, we present them to the central office again because that is where decisions are made," said the head of the headquarters. We tried to get answers from the BHK main office, but since the director wasn't there, the other employees also didn't give us any information.
Levon Zurabyan's headquarters, Armenian National Congress (HAK): "The residents propose their plans"
Member of the HAK Levon Zurabyan's headquarters is counting the booklets to distribute to citizens. Head of the headquarters Samvel Abrahamyan mentioned that people didn't appeal to the headquarters with their issues. "They all demand a solution to general issues, including the restoration of legitimacy, certain steps to put an end to the illegal acts, a solution to the issue of emigration and more." Samvel Abrahamyan also said there had been cases when the relatives of drug addicts and gamers had visited the headquarters not to ask for something, but to present some plans to eliminate the addiction. The head of Levon Zurabyan's headquarters is optimistic toward the elections and says most people will vote for Levon Zurabyan.
"Country of Law" Party (OEK): "Produce is better than 5,000 drams"
The representatives of the OEK's headquarters on Saryan Street are busy doing different things. The secretary, Siranush Abajyan, refused to talk about the activities without the director's permission. There were three representatives at the other OEK headquarters and they also needed permission to speak. After getting permission, they said five buses took partisans to the OEK rally held near Moscow Cinema. Headquarter representative Narine Khachikyan said many people support the party. When asked whether the party had given produce or other gifts, she said: "You're aware of our action. It was organized by Hayasi Benevolent Company with Hayasi coffee and jam...Isn't that better than a 5,000-dram electoral bribe?"
"Heritage" Party: "We don't take citizens of Gyumri to Lori"
According to representative of the "Heritage"-"Free Democrats" parties' headquarters Angela Khachatryan, the people are interested in the elections. "There are some people who are reluctant due to their jobs." She added the party didn't complain about few people coming to their rallies. They come, and the more they come, the more we are satisfied. The important thing is that we don't go to meetings and don't take, for example, citizens of Gyumri to the Lori province for a meeting to show that we have gathered people."
Republican Party of Armenia (HHK)-Garegin Nushikyan's headquarters: "Nobody has appealed for money"
The representatives at the HHK headquarters and Garegin Nushikyan's headquarters refused to answer questions. They asked us to come a little later and speak with the head of the headquarters. Since Nushikyan has many headquarters in central Yerevan, we tried to find out about their activities from other headquarters. We spoke with head of the headquarters stationed near the Cascade, Misak Sargsyan, but weren't able to find out many things. He said the main function is to organize meetings with the citizens so that they get acquainted with the candidate's pre-electoral programs. When asked whether there had been people who came with a request for money, he said there had never been such a case.
Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D): "They believe in fair elections"
One of the headquarters of the ARF-D in Kentron district limits itself to meetings with residents and specifying the lists of voters in the given area. The head of the headquarters said there were homes where there were 30-40 registered voters. Kentron district is a little different from the other districts.
"Here people are more or less provided, and that is why the residents of this district are mainly interested in seeing fair elections," said head of the ARF-D headquarters Arkadi Petrosyan. According to him, compared to previous years, the citizens believe that these elections will be fairer than the previous ones.
