2) Dashnaktsutyun is the only independent political power in Armenia that does not have to account to the mafioso-oligarch power structures in the country. Only Dashnaktsutyun, due to the fact that its leadership is accountable to an organization not controlled by big mafia businessmen can effectively root out the corruption in the country.

3) Vahan Hovhannisyan is the only real native Yerevantsi/Hayastantsi in the three front-runners. Serj Sargsyan is from Artsakh and Levon Ter-Petrosyan is from Syria. Vahan is a “bnik Yerevantsi” who is very popular amongst the native population of Yerevan.

Still, like I said, nice idea, and perhaps one will have a direct result on party nominations in the future although it should of course be by secret ballot.

The commonplace belief in strong centralization on the part of such parties I do see in this, but the “ironical” I do not. Maybe if you could explain further why the physical act of dropping a piece of paper through a slit in a box as opposed saying someone’s name over the phone constitutes “irony” in the context of polling, I’d understand you and RFE better.

VAHAN HOVHANNISYAN IS THE FAVORITE

A1 Plus, 27 November, 2007

The “Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun” is implementing quite an interesting pre-election model to participate in the upcoming presidential election with a private candidate – a rating voting.

The results of the voting, which started on 24 November, are already obvious.

In an interview with us, the responsible persons of various voting tents informed that about 200-300 people vote each day. It should be reminded that red tents are installed in the city of Yerevan symbolizing ARF where you can give your vote to two of the party’s representatives - Vahan Hovhanissyan or Armen Rustamyan. Young people, in red, walk in the streets of Yerevan providing the citizens with ballot-papers to vote for an ARF candidate.

“People participate in the action with pleasure and show great interest toward it”, ensured the responsible of the tent of Mashtots-Tumanyan crossway.

By the way, the participants of the action do to not conceal their choice.

The voting will be concluded on Thursday, but the results of rating voting are already clear. The citizens mainly give their votes to the member of ARF Bureau Vahan Hovhannisyan.

http://home.a1plus.am/en/?page=issue&iid=54949

GEGHAMIAN PARTY FACES DISSENT AFTER BLASTING TER-PETROSIAN

At least three leaders of local chapters have resigned their membership in Artashes Geghamian’s National Accord Party (AMK) after the latter’s blistering attack on the former president during a party meeting on Tuesday.

Gurgen Grigorian, who headed the party’s structure in the Yerevan district of Erebuni, confirmed to RFE/RL the reports that appeared in the Armenian press about frictions within the party following Geghamian’s critical remarks about Levon Ter-Petrosian.

He further claimed that 3,500 members of the party in Erebuni were ready to follow suit and join the opposition movement spearheaded by Ter-Petrosian.

Grigorian also confirmed that at least two local party leaders, namely in the northern towns of Gavar and Hrazdan, had also ended their AMK leadership to join Ter-Petrosian’s movement.

“Enough is enough. I’m not a bird to swallow the bait. People now realize that you [AMK] are really useless. And I don’t want to bear the stamp of a betrayer,” Grigorian told RFE/RL.

[…]

Grigorian also claims that Geghamian effectively refused to back another opposition leader Stepan Demirchian, who faced a runoff with Robert Kocharian in the 2003 presidential election, and warned them not to participate in the opposition rallies then.

Geghamian brushed aside these accusations and downplayed the extent of the frictions inside the party. He said they have 411 local chapters and that no one except Gurgen Grigorian has so far informed them about their plans to quit the party.

http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeniareport/report/en/2007/11/9C4A5C46-8230-4A1A-850D-C00DC0443BC5.ASP

As to Artashes Geghamyan, he is the most unstable and dependent political populist among current players. He is not even a player. He is just a PR tool for those who guide him. I can’t remember any occasion that Geghamyan displayed principal position in a critical time. It was always anything but… One should follow him since it may give an indirect indication of state of affairs within the authorities. Other than that, when he speaks, what I hear is blah, blah, blah…