Prosperous Armenia under pressure – party representative.

Vardan Bostanjyan, a member of the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), held a meeting with journalists on Friday.

A journalist asked him about the incident involving the former head of the PAP Ararat office Karen Khachatryan. Responding to a question as to whether it can be viewed as pressure on the party, Bostanjyan said: “You yourself say it.”

Mr Bostanjyan had been listening to his opponent Hovhannes Igityan, a member of the Armenian National Congress (ANC), who stated that the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) is pressing its coalition partner, PAP, by pressing individual PAP members.

With respect to Karen Khachatryan’s resignation from the PAP (he reportedly won over 400 PAP members), Bostanjyan said that “a few hundred does not “play a key role for one million.” By “one million” Bostanjyan means the one-million-strong electorate ready to vote for the PAP.

We would remind readers that Karen Khachatryan recently announced his resignation from the PAP. Yesterday, Jan 26, he was appointed Chief of the Ararat police department.

In his interview with Azatutyun Radio this Thursday, Khachik Galstyan, Spokesman for PAP Chairman Gagik Tsarukyan, said that 20 PAP members at most have left the party along with Khachatryan.

Bostanjyan went on to comment on the possibility of the PAP supporting the parliamentary opposition’s proposal for a switch-over to proportional representation. He is confident that such a step by the PAP can never be viewed as a retaliatory measure.