False election promises in Armenia
Only a few days remain before Armenia’s parliamentary elections. Eighteen political parties are actively campaigning. In particular, they are travelling across the regions, meeting voters and making numerous promises.
Experts from the analytical centre Armenian Council monitored and analysed these promises. After completing their review, they said some of them were “not only unrealistic, but often had no connection to reality”.
Among the promises, analysts highlighted a sensational statement by the opposition Strong Armenia party. Its leader is Russian businessman and dollar billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who is currently under house arrest over calls to seize power.
In an address to voters, Karapetyan promised that, if he came to power, he would adopt what he described as the country’s most important law within a week. He said it would be called the “Safarov Prevention Law”. According to the businessman, the legislation would ban Azerbaijanis from “buying our land, our homes or receiving our land as gifts”.
Experts from the Armenian Council warn that this is a false claim. They stress that the main purpose of the “sensational” statement is to attract public attention.
“Legislation already exists and remains in force prohibiting foreign citizens from acquiring land ownership rights,” the analysts remind readers.
In their view, such false promises rely on voters being poorly informed.
However, the experts themselves believe Armenian...
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