Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 5
By Emma Tariverdiyeva – Trend:
Tomorrow, on Dec.6, Armenia will hold a referendum on the draft of constitutional amendments, according to which the government system in Armenia will turn it into a semi-presidential republic.
One can speak regarding the outcome of the referendum when it is over, however it is already clear what dirty and deceitful show Armenian authorities have staged. To keep the power in their hands, the Armenian authorities didn’t disdain to virtually openly hold one of the dirtiest election campaigns, not feeling ashamed of multiple exposures of their actions, both in the local and international media.
According to official data, during the last presidential and parliamentary election, the turnout amounted to about 1.6 million voters. But in fact, in a country where half of the employed men live in Russia, trying to feed their families, and where the government overrates the number of people in general, people who died, but are still counted in the rolls, often “vote” in the election, which makes at least half a million votes.
Authorities took advantage of the opportunity so that the electoral law would allow carrying through other counterfeits as well, by adopting the law which allows voting on ID cards on the eve of the referendum. This entitles the holder to vote at several polling stations at once. Thus, the law allows multiple voting for 180,000 holders of ID cards.
Simple math shows that the government already has all the chances to achieve the outcome of the voting which it needs.
It is not surprising that in this situation, in fact, no public opinion poll was held in Armenia during the election campaign.
What is surprising is that despite all the precautionary steps, absolutely unequal conditions in the election campaign and the administrative resources involved by the authorities, it is the first time that Armenian authorities are not confident of an easy victory over the opposition.
In recent times, Armenia has been shaken by waves of discontent periodically growing into rallies and protests. Local media permanently publishes materials exposing the disgracefulness of Armenia’s ruling elite headed by President Serzh Sargsyan and his closest relatives.
By using the Internet, the “No” campaign tried to convey the truth to the people about what is going on: the only expected result of the constructional reforms is that the criminal clan of Sargsyan will remain in power, albeit in a new role.
If Armenia was a democratic country, one could have confidently stated that the supporters of constitutional reforms have no chances for the victory. However, taking into account the realities, the authorities are likely gain a victory over its miserable people again.
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Elmira Tariverdiyeva, head of Trend’s Russian News Service
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