Hovannisian Begins Hunger Strike

He says “Over my Dead Body” will Sarkisian be inaugurated on April 9

YEREVAN—Opposition leader Raffi Hovannisian just said at a barevolution rally on Freedom Square in Yerevan that Serzh Sarkisian will be sworn in as president “over my dead body,” adding that he will start a hunger strike on the square.

“I am starting a hunger strike. I will not eat, and I will not accept deception and threats from anyone,” Hovannisian said.

“If on April 9, Sarkisian takes his fake oath on the Holy Bible, and if the Catholicos desecrates the Bible and blesses the candidate [Sarkisian] who mocks the people, then that will happen over my dead body,” he said.

Until April 9, Sarkisian should accept the demand of the overwhelming majority of the population, recognize the victory of the people, and resign, noted Hovannisian.

Hovannisian also demanded the resignation of all governors. Having appealed to the Constitutional Court to present its verdict on the presidential election, he added, “If the Constitutional Court does not correct its path, we will say goodbye to them too, and we will create our own court on the square.”

Constitutional Court Opens Hearings on Hovannisian’s Appeal
Armenia’s Constitutional Court on Monday opened hearings on Hovannisian’s appeal against official results of Armenia’s February 18 presidential election.

Hovannisian’s representatives presented the court with a 16-page document containing purported evidence of widespread fraud.

The document contains not only instances of alleged violations but also claims that Sarkisian exceeded the legal limit on campaign spending set at 100 million drams ($245,000). It also faults the authorities for refusing to publish the lists of Armenians who went to the polls on February 18 and thus disprove opposition allegations that scores of fake ballots marked for Sarkisian were cast on behalf of Armenians absent from the country, reported RFE/RL.

“The official results of elections held amid public distrust, a widespread sense that their outcome is predetermined and numerous systematic irregularities are not credible and not accepted by the public,” Karen Mezhlumian, a legal counselor to Hovannisian, said in his opening remarks.

The Constitutional Court judges pressed the opposition representatives to demonstrate documentary evidence of fraud. One of them, Felix Tokhian, challenged Mezhlumian to explain why very few election commission members appointed by the Hovannisian campaign formally protested against the official results in their respective communities.

“I know that you had more than 1,000 proxies and about 1,900 commission members. How many of them complained and tried to counter [alleged fraud] in a manner defined by law?” he asked.

The court is due to hand down a verdict on the appeal by Friday.

Hovannisian Denies Claims of President’s Invitation to Talks
Hovannisian strongly denied claims that Sarkisian’s office invited the opposition leader to talks.

Panorama.am quoted the president’s press secretary Armen Arxumanian as saying that Sarkisian’s chief of staff reached out to Hovannisian and invited him to talks with the president over Armenia’s post-election situation.

“Lies and deceit from the [presidential] palace are continuing,” Hovannisian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “Either they will change course or things will be bad for all of us.”

“They are deliberately spreading disinformation. As I have said for many times, I am waiting for Mr. Sarkisian to come here at his convenience and address this issue face to face,” he added.

“We note with regret Mr. Hovannisian’s refusal to examine all outstanding issues comprehensively and in detail,” said Arzumanian. “We can only hope that Mr. Hovannisian has correctly evaluated the situation and is soberly conscious of dangers stemming from the de facto rejection of dialogue.”

“The official results of elections held amid public distrust, a widespread sense that their outcome is predetermined and numerous systematic irregularities are not credible and not accepted by the public,” Karen Mezhlumian, a legal counselor  to Hovannisian, said in his opening remarks.

The Constitutional Court judges pressed the opposition representatives to demonstrate documentary evidence of fraud. One of them, Felix Tokhian, challenged Mezhlumian to explain why very few election commission members appointed by the Hovannisian campaign formally protested against the official results in their respective communities.

“I know that you had more than 1,000 proxies and about 1,900 commission members. How many of them complained and tried to counter [alleged fraud] in a manner defined by law?” he asked.

“The Constitutional Court as well as other courts cannot make decisions on the basis of presumptions,” Tokhian added after hearing no clear answer.

The court is due to hand down a verdict on the appeal by Friday.