HAK to develop methods to overcome all forms of counterfeiting
The Armenian National Congress (HAK) decided to participate in the October 2 by-elections in Gyumri and Vanadzor cities, considering the fact that they were to be held on a party basis for the first time, the HAK said in a statement today. “We expected to see fair competition of political programs and positions. It also created an opportunity for us to raise the political level of elections, which the HAK was able to ensure during the presidential and parliamentary elections. However, the Oct. 2 elections in Gyumri and Vanadzor cities did not differ from the previous elections held in the country for many years when personal and friendly relations, election bribes and other methods were applied to influence the voters’ position. Unfortunately, the Armenian National Congress was unable to prevent politicization of the elections which was determined by the deeply-rooted clannish nature of elections, on the one hand, and our tactical shortcomings during the campaign when we underestimated the complexity of the issue, on the other hand. The elections continued to be perceived as a competition based on clan ties, bribes and pressure brought to bear on voters. The HAK will draw tall necessary conclusions and will develop methods to overcome all forms of counterfeiting. All our future efforts will be aimed at solving the main problem - change of power in the 2017 parliamentary elections in order to establish democracy in the country” the HAK said in the statement.
