Candidate: Tense atmosphere in Syunik (video)
The atmosphere is tense in Syunik marz in the run-up to this Sunday’s parliamentary elections and certain forces are doing everything to further aggravate the situation, Samvel Harutyunyan of the Free Democrats party, who stands as candidate in the April 2 vote in Constituency N12, told a news conference on March 29. He says vote buying has started in Goris. “It is quite easy to bribe people living in extreme poverty. By the way this is done by the [political] force that speaks against vote buying most of all. I demand that the Central Electoral Commission and the police put an end to this situation,” the candidate said. The former mayor of Goris town says the pro-government forces are using all administrative and financial resources in the marz. “Even a prostitute can haggle over the price, but in this case voters cannot bargain. They say we know your price; it is AMD 5000 or AMD 10 000. It is presented as an act of beneficence but in reality this is a serious crime. The person has no right to speak after taking the money. He loses his dignity and its identity; he has no right to complain. I call on all voters to reject bribes but if you take money, you can feel free to take revenge on the person who humiliated you and insulted your dignity in the polling booth," he said.
