Heritage candidate: “Election vote will be devalued”
Heritage party representative Styopa Safaryan, who is running in Sunday's parliamentary elections in Yerevan's N1 single-mandate constituency, has made numerous discoveries during door-to-door canvassing.
During a meeting with residents of Yerevan's Avan district, the locals said openly that certain parties had been giving election bribe.
"If you have health problems, the state will recoup the costs of treatment. If you run a small business, we can help you legalize it. These pledges are given by Republican candidates. Everyone knows that the Rule of Law (OEK) is bribing people with jam. I can even give you the names and phone numbers of people who received jam," said Grigor Gasparyan.
Styopa Safaryan considers elections to be a game, with rules set by the public. He says a literate person knows his rights and duties and will not take election bribe.
‘Even if vote-buying has become a wide-spread phenomenon, voters, especially those in urban areas, will surely cast their votes for the candidates they want, thereby devaluing election bribe since they will take bribe from one force and vote for another,' said the Heritage party candidate.
Safaryan's contenders in the constituency are Ruben Hayrapetyan, a candidate of the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) and Gayane Arustamyan, who is backed by the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK).
