Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

Pre-election campaign in Armenia, with its scandalous progress, not only complicates the already confused political situation, but also causes panic among people reducing the credibility to the upcoming elections.

The agitation campaign accompanied with the candidates' statements over withdrawal from the presidential races, hunger strikes, and even an armed attack on one of the candidates shows the plight of political intolerance in Armenia.

Paruyr Hayrikyan, who was shot in the shoulder in the center of Yerevan on January 31, was able to escape the death. Following the attack, whose real reason is undetermined yet, first appealed to the Armenian Constitution Court to change the date of the election for two weeks in accordance with the Constitution.

However, later Hayrikyan withdrew his application back as he recognized that the court is unlikely to approve his address and it will not produce any result.

In the light of the created situation, the leader of the National Conciliation party Aram Harutyunyan withdrew his candidacy, but earlier went on one-day hunger strike in front of the Central Election Committee building, to deem further rivalry for the president's post unfounded and has no confidence in a fair conduct of the election.

Furthermore, Harutyunyan urged all other presidential candidates to issue statements on a joint withdrawal to leave main rival - incumbent president and the chairman of the Armenian Republican Party Serzh Sargsyan as the sole candidate.

"The upcoming elections can't be legitimate, while those ready to continue the struggle legitimize the authorities," Harutyunyan said.

Meanwhile, other presidential candidate Andreas Ghukasyan, who announced a hunger strike near the building of the Armenian parliament on January 21, refused to stop the strike despite ill health. Ghukasyan stated that he will stop the hunger strike only when Sargsyan withdraws from the presidential race or if the European countries state that Armenia is a non-democratic country and stop implementing their observation missions.

Furthermore, almost in all regions of the country, people complain on collection of passport data, financial pledges, in some cases even the pressure on voters.

Head of Heritage faction Ruben Hakobyan said that the persons carrying out these works interested in collecting data of the people being outside the country, and called on government to develop effective mechanisms to prevent electoral bribery.

Opposition also complains that Armenian schools turned into a place of agitation, where parents are blackmailed and teachers are openly canvassing for the current president. People apprehend to address relevant structures and report the incident.

Only the social-economic situation in Armenia has not changed on the background of the recent developments: the situation is still miserable.

Shortly before the presidential election Gallup International Association, a group of research agencies, has conducted a public opinion poll over the economic situation established in the country.

Some 35 percent of respondents evaluate the economic situation in the country as bad, whereas some 24 percent assess it as very bad.

Director of the Armenian office of Gallup International Association Aram Navasardian said only 3 percent of respondents assess the economic situation in Armenia as positive and 36 percent as average.

Navasardian added that nine percent assess their material well-being as good and only one per cent as very good. However, 60 percent consider the material wealth of the family as average, 21 percent as bad and nine percent as very bad.

"The difference between the estimates of well-being in the family and economic situation in the country is stipulated by the fact that the family does not depend only on the situation in the country, as many depend directly on private transfers," Navasardian said.

Only 10 percent of respondents are fully satisfied with life, while 21 percent are dissatisfied and 37 percent are partially satisfied.

Asked 'Will you live better or worse in a year?', 40 percent of respondents stressed they will face the same situation, while 21 percent believe it will be slightly better, and 13 percent say they expect it to be slightly worse, six per cent much worse and four percent much better. Around 17 percent failed to answer the question.

The Gallup poll was conducted among 1,080 people in Yerevan and other regions, including rural communities, on February 2-5.

Meanwhile, Presidential candidate Raffi Hovhannisyan announced that Armenia has lost 200,000 people over the past 5 years. He blamed the current and the previous governments of the boosting large-scale migration, adding that Armenia will have a new president if free, fair and transparent elections are held.

The existing deplorable economic situation forced ordinary Armenians to leave the country. Thus, about 2.234 million people left Armenia in 2012, while 2.191 million arrived, according to the state migration body of the country, which has population of less than 3.5 million.

Given the South Caucasus republic's small population, this is a high percentage -- a dangerous demographic situation for Armenia -- and if this trend continues, the country may soon have almost no labor force left. Around two-thirds of the migrants have reportedly gone to Russia, while the rest have moved to the U.S. or Europe.

It seems that, the sixth presidential elections in the history of Armenia will not gladden hopeless respondents -- ordinary Armenians. But Armenian people should not be condemned, how they can expect a fair president from unfair fabricated presidential elections?