Armenian political analysts exclude post-election mass protests

It is unlikely that political forces in Armenia will organize protests against the outcomes of parliamentary elections, as they will not be able to ensure the mass character thereof; and it will quickly bring the protest movement to nothing, local political analysts believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported informed that the Armenian parliamentary elections were held on April 2. According to the outcomes, the ruling Republican Party won more than half of the ballots. The opposition reported massive violations during the voting.

On April 6, the press conference, held at the Yerevan's “Media Centre” Club of Public Journalism, discussed the election outcomes.

The Republican Party took advantage of the society’s political apathy for winning the elections, Alexander Iskandaryan, a political analyst and the Director of the Institute of the Caucasus, believes.

In his opinion, the party in power wins because of the absence of a political force capable to oppose it. He added that for the first time the opposition has failed to stage protests, demanding to review or cancel the voting totals.

Armen Bagdasaryan, a political analyst, believes that in the short term the public apathy will lead to increased migration.

Samvel Manukyan, a sociologist, believes that to organize the protest movement, the country needs a leader, which is absent in Armenia today. In his opinion, the electorate’s approach to voting will not change in the next 5-6 years.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.