Letter to Congress

On March 10 in Yerevan the 13th congress of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)took place, where a new slogan ("The best Armenia for everyone")  was put forward and the current Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan  unanimously re-elected as chairman of the Republican Party.

At the initiative of Sargsyan, it was decided to increase the size of the governing body of the party from 105 to 125 people. The members of the newly elected political council became the parliamentary speaker Samvel Nikoyan, Vice-Speaker Edward Sharmazanov, Minister of Education and Science Armen Ashotyan, Chairman of the Youth Council of Republican Karen Avagyan, member of the Republican Party Hermine Naghdalyan and the Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan. The newly elected executive body was also extended.

The congress adopted a resolution which shows the path covered by the party in 2007-2012. The document notes that the Republican Party strengthened the statehood of Armenia and increased the country's defensive capacities: "Despite the external challenges and internal complexity, due to consistent and hard work we were able to maintain the stability of the country in a situation of several crises over the years, to change the deeply rooted stereotypes of criticism and re-evaluate the right of opposition to discussion, to take part in regional processes as a reliable and responsible member of the international community." The paper addresses the problem of economic development and points to the need to move from focusing on economic growth to the concept of economic development and systemic change.

The leader of the Republican Party issued a summary report, affecting the economy, domestic and foreign policy. The report presents the country's achievements during the reign of the Republican Party, including the overcoming of the crisis, reducing unemployment, increasing wages and pensions, the increase in subsidies for regional development, etc. The President also touched upon the normal conduct of parliamentary elections, stressing that the elections are only a tool for the implementation of the RPA's set objectives.

In general, the Congress in the form and to some extent, the content recalled the Communist Party congresses of the Soviet Union in the period of "developed socialism": the unanimous approvals, numerous statements about the achievements and conquests of the ruling party, stormy and prolonged applause and even the scale itself (1,800 delegates). The 13th Congress could be considered not only reminiscent of an event in Soviet times, but an event which did not bring anything new or special to the country's political life, if it were not for some particular circumstances.

The Congress passed a video presentation of the chairman of the European People's Party (EPP), Wilfried Martens. In February of this year, the Republican Party, along with the two other Armenian parties - "Legacy" and "Rule of Law" ("Rule of Law") - was granted observer status in the EPP. At first glance, the presentation of Martens was not different from many other speeches of European institution representatives: the same theses on  European values, on the way to European integration, to which Armenia should head, and the progress made in this direciton, etc.  With this background, Martens' certainty about the victory of the RPA in the upcoming elections  in May sounded a little strange and even intriguing. In particular, he said: "I definitely believe in the victory of the Republican Party. And you will do it not for yourself and not for your party, but for your country, because Armenia needs the reformative policy of the Republican Party to continue. Armenia sees that its European horizon expands. And the Republican Party is the driving force behind these dynamics. "

Another intrigue was Vladimir Putin greeting the congress. Until now, no Russian leader has ever sent greetings to a congress of the political powers in Armenia. The greetings of the Russian president-elect was read by the representative of the party "United Russia", Arthur Chilingarov. Of course, Putin greeted the congress as chairman of the party "United Russia", but everybody in Armenia and the media took this as a move of the president.

The statement of Chilingarov, that the Armenian community in Russia unanimously voted in favor of Vladimir Putin, was also quite surprising. According to him, Serzh Sargsyan greatly contributed to it when he urged his compatriots to give their votes to Putin. How could Chilingarov with such precision  determine the number of Armenians who voted for Putin remains unclear. As far as we know, the mechanism that determines the number of votes based on ethnicity is not yet developed, not to mention the fact that not all Russian citizens of Armenian nationality have the right to vote because of their age.

With specific regard to the congress, it is worth paying attention to two factors. First, it is unprecedented in Armenian reality that the proportional list of the Republican Party is headed by the president. Second, the RPA decided to expand its structures. Both factors indicate the serious preparation of the Republican Party for the elections, and its intention to do everything possible to retain power. Despite the presence of huge administrative, financial and information resources, it will not be an easy task, given the current realities, meaning the talk of the entire oppositional field uniting, as happened in the mayoral election in Hrazdan and the struggle for the introduction of a proportional electoral system.

Susanna Petrosian in Yerevan. Exclusively for "VK"