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Stepan Grigoryan: It Is Important That Atmosphere Has Changed In Armenia

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Stepan Grigoryan: It Is Important That Atmosphere Has Changed In Armenia
STEPAN GRIGORYAN

The results of the parliamentary elections reflect the mood of the people.

Nikol Pashinyan’s My Step bloc has won a double-digit victory in the parliamentary elections in Armenia, receiving more than 70% of the votes. The two other political forces that passed to the country's parliament, Prosperous Armenia and Enlightened Armenia, gained about 8% and 6%, respectively.

With such a margin, the political party wins for the first time in the history of independent Armenia.

The results of the parliamentary elections were commented to the Charter97.org website by a physics scientist, one of the leaders of the democratic movement in Armenia in the 1990s, a former deputy of the Supreme Council of the Republic and Armenian Ambassador to Russia, Stepan Grigoryan:

– The public sentiment suggested that Nikol Pashinyan would get a lot of votes at the elections. It was clear that 65-70% of voters would vote for his bloc.

That is, the elections were held more or less on track: they were fairly honest and transparent. And the election results reflect the mood of the people in Armenia.

But from the point of view of political balance within the government, obviously, there is a certain concern, since one force won by a landslide and got 2/3 of the seats in parliament.

In addition, there was practically no opposition in the parliament, because the two other parties – Prosperous Armenia and Enlightened Armenia – by and large do not represent the opposition, their concepts do not represent large differences from the position of Nikol Pashinyan’s My Step movement.

That is, even though the elections were fairly honest and we got a fairly legitimate parliament, reflecting the interests of the people, we have to admit that there are no balances inside the parliament. There are no alternative centers in the main legislative body – and this causes some concern.

But we can say for sure: the elections were fair.

– What are the most important tasks that stand before Pashinyan’s government? What reforms will he have to undertake in order to meet the expectations of the Armenian people?

– I want to say that important things happened in the country after the elections.

Recently, we moved to the parliamentary system. And after these elections, Nikol Pashinyan has the majority in parliament. It is very important.

The problem was that after the revolution, Nikol Pashinyan became the prime minister of the minority. The majority belonged to the former ruling party. Now the situation has returned to normal: Nikol Pashinyan is the prime minister, and he will have the majority in parliament. This is very important and positive.

It’s positive in the sense that Nikol Pashinyan will now form a majority government and when it starts to work, there will not be dirty tricks and provocations inside the parliament.

On the other hand, the people have high expectations from the new government. I do not know how to fulfill all these expectations.

The main expectations are: the improvement of the social situation, the increase in wages, economic freedoms, the fight against oligarchy and corruption. These are all questions of primary importance. Let's see how the government will decide them, time will tell.

But the situation is already normal in the sense that Nikol Pashinyan and his bloc have the majority in parliament and they can easily pass any legislative acts to carry out reforms.

– Has life already changed in Armenia since the velvet revolution?

– Absolutely. The atmosphere in Armenia has changed. I must honestly say: this is very important. There is no atmosphere of fear today.

It has been shown by the parliamentary elections, in particular. The parties could normally carry out their campaigns at them. There were no obstacles: parties could hold rallies, move freely around the country. In this sense, there were major changes for the better.

It is also positive that a certain fight against corruption and demonopolization began.

But there was certain discontent among the people, because all that was not done systematically. The changes were occasional. I hope that after the elections, more systematic work on these issues will begin.

People expect the government to raise salaries and pensions, improve the social situation. And for this, it is necessary to pass new laws and attract investments. I hope that positive changes will start now.

In the seven months after the revolution, the positive thing was not that the wages were raised, but that the atmosphere in the country changed dramatically. There is no fear, political freedoms have increased – this should give positive changes in other areas.

– A steady conflict has emerged between Pashinyan and Lukashenka regarding at least two issues: the question of the CSTO Secretary General and the sale of Belarusian Palanezes to Azerbaijan. In your opinion, will this conflict intensify?

– I think that this conflict will intensify. The reason is purely and simply that the official Minsk will continue to cooperate with Azerbaijan in the military sphere, and this will cause irritation in Armenia.

Secondly, the remaining year in the position of the Secretary General should, logically, be transferred to Armenia. But this, unfortunately, is not governed by the collective security treaty.

Why wouldn’t Belarus receive the post of the CSTO Secretary General earlier? Lukashenka is simply taking a step in favor of Azerbaijan: he wants to play to Baku in order to get more oil for a better price. Therefore, I think that relations between the official Minsk and Yerevan will deteriorate.

Lukashenka will continue military cooperation with Azerbaijan, which is a very sensitive issue for us. Therefore, tensions will increase in relations between Armenia and Belarus.

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