Three presidential candidates issue joint statement

The presidential candidates Hrant Bagratian, Paruyr Hayrkian, and Raffi Hovannisian have issued a joint statement, expressing their concern.

The joint statement reads:
“We are on the threshold of an important historical event – the presidential election to be held in Armenia on February 18.
Unfortunately, so far we have failed to create an Armenia, in which the rule of law and universal democratic standards and national values predominate. Establishing popular power in Armenia by means of elections remains a long-wished-for dream. This vicious situation makes us come up with a number of initiatives, in particular:
We believe that it is necessary to release lists of citizens absent from the republic who – in violation of the Constitution – are deprived of the opportunity to exercise their right to vote. We believe that the list of Armenian citizens, who were absent from the country for more than 180 days in the past year but are included in voter lists, should be put up in polling stations separately from the main lists, in order to rule out instances of voting instead of absent citizens.
All the candidates, including the incumbent president, should assume an obligation (not in word, but in practice) to rule out use of their administrative resource, including administrative pressure on employees of government-financed organizations such as teachers, doctors and military servicemen as well as use of policemen, security forces and the army in the electoral processes. The vicious practice of creating an atmosphere of fear, especially the intimidation of citizens employed in the state system, should be ruled out.
We will consider any electoral fraud or similar fact of violation as an anti-constitutional action.
While respecting our partner political figures and parties’ calls not to run in the election, we, the undersigned presidential candidates, at the same time consider it to be our duty to express our conviction that it is only by consistent work and effective fight that the current situation in Homeland can be changed.
So we call upon all Armenian citizens to vote in the upcoming February 18 presidential election”.

This information was submitted by the campaign headquarters of candidate Raffi Hovannisian.
The three candidates have also congratulated all Armenian citizens on the occasion of the Armenian National Army Day.