YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–The recently formed Republican Party of Armenia–led by Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsyan–said on Thursday it will try to win a "qualitative majority" in the next parliament following elections scheduled for May 30.
The statement was made by party chairman Andranik Markarian–who did not elaborate–however. Republican leaders have said before that winning the polls will not be their "super-goal" and shrugged off opposition concerns about possible vote manipulation. Sargsyan has urged opponents to engage in a dialogue with his party to make sure the elections are clean.
The Republicans last month held their high-profile founding congress. Sargsyan’s Yerkrapah Union of the Karabakh war veterans has formed the nucleus of the new party.
The Republican Party has the biggest faction in the current parliament and controls most of Armenia’s local administrations. But Markarian said the party can not be considered a ruling party arguing that it has only two cabinet members–Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsyan and Minister for Territorial Rule David Zadoyan. "It is wrong to say that this is the Republicans’ government," he told reporters.
