ARMY SHOULD NOT PARTICIPATE IN ELECTIONS
Support A1+!“If I were a commander I would force my subordinates to vote for my candidate. Fancy what will happen if my candidate does not win, an opposition force is formed and I support it?” a young man said when answering our question about participation of the army in the elections.
40% of the surveyed consider that soldiers should not participate in any kind of elections explaining their opinion by the fact that “a soldier is an order-performer; army should not intervene with politics”. The same answer we heard from an officer we met in one of Yerevan streets.
According to the acting legislation of the Republic of Armenia, soldiers can participate in the presidential or parliamentary elections and in referendums, that is to say in the elections when the whole republic is considered to be a united polling station. The acting Election Code states that the military personnel cannot take part in the elections of the local self-government or the NA elections.
In the opinion of 8% of the surveyed, the military should be given the right to participate only in the elections of the local self-government. But what if a Yerevan resident is serving his service in Meghri..? “In this case he should come to Yerevan and vote”, one of the adherents of the opinion answered. 20% spoke for the preservation of the EC article on the franchise of the military personnel. 8% stated that the soldiers should take part in all kinds of elections. 24% of the surveyed found difficulty in answering. By Karine Asatryan
