Marianna Grigoryan 5/09/07

With just over a day left in Armenia’s parliamentary campaign, many voters say
that it will take more than promises of a strong army or increased pensions to
get them to the polls on May 12. Some sociologists put the disinterest down to
political parties’ failure to use professional public relations techniques. Many
parties, however, counter that they see no reason for experts to help them
engage with voters.

Frustration with past elections, which many voters believe were rigged, appears
to drive much of the apathy.

"No matter what happens, our life will not change. No matter who is elected or
not elected, nothing can change," said 50-year-old Martin Hovhannisian, a former
chemical engineer who now earns a living by driving a cab in one of Yerevan’s
suburbs. "As I see no prospects, I will not go to the polls. The elections are
for officials and do not change anything in the lives of ordinary people."

Pensioner Margarit Minasian also plans to stay at home. She points at buses that
brought students and people working for state-run organizations -- reportedly
involuntarily -- to a Yerevan rally for the ruling Republican Party of Armenia.

"If everything is turned into theater and people try to show something using
their strength, why should I believe in our tomorrow?" she sighed.

International observers have already noted this mood. During an April 27 press
conference, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Armenia
Office Head Vladimir Pryakhin stated that OSCE surveys indicate that more than
half of Armenian voters do not want to participate in the elections.

"It is difficult for me to say why it is so, but the latest surveys show that 90
percent of eligible voters do not connect their and their families’ future with
the outcome of the upcoming elections," Pryakhin told reporters. "It is not that
they mistrust politicians, they simply do not feel dependent on them," he noted
about the elections. The fact that many Armenians rely on relatives abroad for
financial support could explain the low interest in domestic politics, he added.

Similarly, an April 3-10 opinion poll of 2,000 Armenians conducted by British
pollster Populus reported that 50 percent of respondents believe that the
elections’ outcome will have no personal significance for them. Thirty percent
noted that there will be no change in Armenia generally, and only 10 percent of
respondents expressed optimism about the elections’ consequences.

Some sociologists argue that part of the problem is that Armenian political
parties have not yet learned how to engage the public’s attention and retain it
for a month-long campaign. The knowledge of how "to conduct a competent and
correct campaign . . . is absent in Armenia," commented Gevorg Poghosian, head
of the Armenian Sociological Association.

A campaign poster featuring a photograph of an official sitting at a table and
captioned "Strength and Faith" typifies the favored approach for pro-government
party posters. Such placards can be seen throughout Armenian towns - even on the
walls of kindergartens - and with little variation in facial expressions or
slogans. Opposition posters tend to be equally non-descript.

"Time is moving on, but the campaign here is conducted on the level of the
1990’s," said political campaign specialist Armen Badalian. " Everyone says that
they will build a strong army, will raise pensions, will solve the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem. The same thing constantly."

Attention to details frequently seems lacking. Information about rallies and
concerts is not always widely distributed even within the parties themselves,
much less to the press or public. The April 18 to May 2 report of the
OSCE/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Election Observation
Mission notes that "most parties appear to favor an approach of holding
unannounced or short-notice rallies."

The result, continued Badalian, is a campaign "which cannot have any impact on
the public."

"For a good result, political parties must work with voters for at least one
year, conduct surveys, decide on psychological aspects [of the campaign], how
they can influence the voter," said Badalian, who would not disclose for which
parties he himself is working. "But what is happening is that, if, say, they are
bribing voters [with handouts], they think they have already achieved their
result and never think of consulting a specialist. They think they can do
everything."

An informal poll of about a dozen political parties conducted by EurasiaNet
found that none had turned to outside advisors for help with grabbing voters’
interest.

"What specialist can help us if we ourselves have a good knowledge of this
business?" asked Prosperous Armenia Party spokesman Baghdasar Mherian. "I
conducted PR for President Robert Kocharian in the 2003 presidential election,
and, as you see, we succeeded then, so we will be successful this time around as
well."

A similar view holds on the other side of the political divide as well. Nikol
Pashinian, a newspaper editor and one of the leaders of the hardline opposition
Impeachment alliance argues that such specialists serve no purpose.

"If you have something to say to the people and thousands of people come to
listen to you, and you do not follow any rule, but simply say what you want to
say, then people will understand you," Pashinian said.

To improve voter engagement with the campaign, one member of the Republican
Party of Armenia parliamentary faction has proposed shortening future
parliamentary campaigns from the current 33 days to one or two weeks.

But for voters like 75-year-old Yerevan resident Varazdat Hakobian a larger
problem still lingers on.

"Everyone smiles, shows they think about us, while everyone has in their minds
how to cheat us and get hold of our votes and then disappear for years until the
next election," Hakobian said. "Everyone is lying, so I won’t go to the polls.
Let them lie without me."