Artsvik Minasyan opts for lower position on `Armenia` bloc electoral  list

ArmInfo. Artsvik Minasyan, Secretary of the opposition "Armenia" faction in the National Assembly, has decided to run at the bottom of the "Armenia" bloc's election list, led by Armenia's second president, Robert Kocharyan.

In a conversation with journalists, he noted that his mandate as a  member of parliament is unimportant to him personally, especially if  the next parliament remains the same as it is now. If the "Civil  Contract" party wins the elections, he, Artsvik Minasyan, will resign  his mandate in any case. "Therefore, no matter where I am, I would  resign and not take a mandate. The gist of my proposal was this: to  be as far away as possible (he is 29th on the list) to make it clear  to the public that these elections are not about a mandate. This is  an opportunity to get rid of this government; there is no need to  fight for a mandate; the lists are conditional; the main problem is  getting rid of this government," the opposition figure said. He added  that this is also an opportunity for other people, more active  individuals, to bring new quality to the country with this team.

Minasyan also noted that it doesn't matter who is on this or that  list, what matters is the country's future. If the opposition is  successful, a huge amount of work lies ahead. "If the law required 50  candidates to be approved, I would have asked for my name to be  listed at the end. Everyone was against it; they said I should be at  the top of the list, but I decided that's exactly what I want. The  list wasn't essential in our discussions," he said. When asked why  former Defense Minister and current faction leader Seyran Ohanyan was  not on the list, Minasyan stated that the reason was  a desire to  give new people a chance and the former minister's other commitments  outside of parliament.