YEREVAN (A.W.)—The leaders of the Hanrapetutyun (Republic), Lusavor Hayastan (Bright Armenia), and Kaghakatsiakan Paymanagir (Civil Contract) parties restated their joint participation in the upcoming Armenian parliamentary elections, as they held the founding congress of their recently formed electoral alliance this past weekend.
The bloc, named Yelk (Way Out), that was set up in December, issued a declaration that stated that the three parties will strive for a “European model of the democratic, rule of law, and social state” in Armenia, RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) reported.
The Republic and Bright Armenia parties have a more pro-Western orientation, while the Civil Contract party promotes a more neutral foreign policy. Following their founding conference, the parties did not release Yelk’s list of election candidates or announce who will be their candidate for Prime Minister in the upcoming elections.
Aram Sargsyan of the Republic Party blamed the delay on “technical” issues. He added that he and his political allies are still negotiating with the Zharangutyun (Heritage) party with the hopes of convincing the party to join their bloc, Azatutyun reported.
The deputy chairman of the Heritage Party, Armena Martirosyan, attended the Yelk gathering. He told reporters that his party has not yet decided whether to join Yelk or another opposition alliance taking form and headed by former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian.
“The people of Armenia have a real chance of achieving victory through our means,” said Civil Contract Party leader Nikol Pashinyan at the conference. Pashinyan also blamed President Serge Sarkisian’s administration for the struggles that the country experiences and accused the president’s personal oligopolies of becoming a major hurdle to fast economic growth.
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