Social and Economic Policies During Armenian Parliamentary Elections

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Armenia

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC POLICIES DURING ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

research results BY RUBEN SARGSYAN

2019

Assessment of social and economic development pathways of the Republic of Armenia according to programmes of political parties and alliances participating in the 2018 snap parliamentary elections. Table of Contents

Abbreviations 03 Executive Summary 04 Methodology 05 Social and Economic politics of political parties and alliances during 07 the Armenian parliamentary elections Quantitative overview Social and Economic politics of political parties and alliances during 09 the Armenian parliamentary elections Republican Party of Armenia 09 Social Sector Economic Sector Citizen’s Decision - Social-Democratic Party 10 Social Sector Economic Sector Armenian Revolutionary Federation Party 13 Social Sector Economic Sector My Step Alliance 15 Social Sector Economic Sector Bright Armenia Party 19 Social Sector Economic Sector Christian-Democratic Rebirth Party 23 Social Sector Economic Sector National Progress Party 23 Social Sector Economic Sector We Party Alliance 25 Social Sector Economic Sector Orinats Yerkir Party 27 Social Sector Economic Sector Sasna Tsrer Pan-Armenian Party 29 Social Sector Economic Sector Prosperous Armenia Party 31 Social Sector Economic Sector Annex 1. Political orientations of parties and alliances participating in 34 the parliamentary elections of the NA of the RA on December 9th, 2018

2 Abbreviations

RA Republic of Armenia NA National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia RPA Republican Party of Armenia CDSDP Citizen’s Decision - Social-Democratic Party ARF Armenian Revolutionary Federation Party MSA My Step Alliance BAP Bright Armenia Party CDRP Christian-Democratic Rebirth Party NPP National Progress Party WPA We Party Alliance OYP Orinats Yerkir Party STPAP Sasna Tsrer Pan-Armenian Party PAP Prosperous Armenia Party CEC Central Electoral Commission

3 Executive Summary

Snap parliamentary elections were held in Armenia on December 9th, 2018. 11 parties and electoral alliances participated in this election, representing different pre-electoral programmes and visions concerning the development of the Republic of Armenia (RA).

This study was commissioned by the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation – Armenia to assess and highlight social and economic development pathways of the RA according to programmes and related campaign materials used by political parties and alliances in the 2018 snap parliamentary elections.

4 provinces (known as marzer - administrative Methodology divisions - in Armenia). Principal sources of information2 were analysed. Observations at This study was conducted using quantitative the assemblies focused on: and qualitative research methods derived from the political and social sciences. a) speeches by political leaders Quantitative research methods were used to b) the three main questions political candi- capture the social and economic development dates were asked during the assemblies and pathways and solutions presented in the pre- their corresponding answers. To examine electoral programmes of political parties these questions and answers, both primary and alliances participating in the elections. and secondary3 sources of information were A content analysis was conducted. Text analysed. segments from pre-electoral programmes were analysed for character count and n Analysis of slogans used by participating number of pages1 dedicated to social and politi-cal parties and electoral alliances. economic content. A comparative analysis of different parties and electoral alliances was n Assessment of electronic video conducted. statements / political advertising by political parties and alliances (for each party or Qualitative research methods were used to alliance, at least two video statements were highlight, analyse and summarise political analysed). statements on social and economic matters in pre-electoral programmes. n Determining “political compasses” for Quantitative and qualitative research political parties and alliances according to methods were used to: the content of pre-electoral programmes.

n Observe assemblies/rallies. Operationalisation of Research Terms n Analyse the content of pre-electoral In accordance with the requirements of this programmes, slogans and video statements. study, the following terms are taken to refer to the social sector: n Determine the “political compasses” of parties and alliances in the political arena. n Employment and unemployment, n Labour law/legislation, “Political compasses” (matrixes describing n Pension scheme/system, the political orientations of parties and n Health system, alliances) were determined according to n Housing security. social and economic development pathways and solutions suggested in pre-electoral And the following terms are taken to refer to programmes (Annex 1). the economic sector: Main Research Directions n Development of the future Armenian economy (e.g. industry and mining, tax and n Assessment of pre-electoral program- banking, agriculture, energy infrastructure mes of political parties and alliances and other sectors of the economy)

n Observation of assemblies; political n Foreign economic relations with the rallies organized by parties and alliances Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the were observed both in Yerevan and in the

1. In this study, one page is equivalent to 1800 characters. 2. Video recordings of assemblies were analysed. 3. The observation results of pre-electoral political rallies provided by the “Independent Observer” public alliance were analysed as a secondary source of information. In total, the “Independent Observer” has monitored 169 pre-electoral political rallies/ assemblies. 5 Objects of Investigation4

1. Republican Party of Armenia 2. Citizen’s Decision - Social-Democratic Party 3. Armenian Revolutionary Federation Party 4. My Step Alliance 5. Bright Armenia Party 6. Christian-Democratic Rebirth Party 7. National Progress Party 8. We Party Alliance 9. Orinats Yerkir Party 10. Sasna Tsrer Pan-Armenian Party 11. Prosperous Armenia Party

4. The order of names of parties and alliances is based on the random sampling of the CEC of the RA.

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Social and economic policies of political parties and alliances during the Armenian parliamentary elections

Quantitative overview

The results of the quantitative observation of pre-electoral programmes of political parties and alliances participating in the parliamentary elections in December 9th, 2018 show that in these programmes, greater attention is paid to the economic sector than the social (see Table 1).

Table 1 shows that the My Step Alliance (51.4 pages or 92603 characters), the Citizen’s Deci- sion - Social-Democratic Party (42.2 pages or 76007 characters) and the Bright Armenia Party (28.3 pages or 50868 characters) provided voters with the largest volume of pre-electoral programmes, and the Republican Party of Armenia (4.7 pages or 8453 characters) the smallest.

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Space dedicated to social and economic Decision - Social-Democratic Party (10720 matters in proportion to the size of the over- characters) and the My Step Alliance (7932 all programmes shows that the Christian-De- characters). These issues were mentioned mocratic Rebirth Party (1%), the Sasna Tsrer least often by the Christian-Democratic Re- Pan-Armenian Party (4%) and the National birth Party (262 characters) and the Sasna Progress Party (5%) paid the least attenti- Tsrer Pan-Armenian Party (399 characters). on to social issues. The Orinats Yerkir Party (17%), Prosperous Armenia Party (15%) and Social issues were most prominent among Citizen’s Decision - Social-Democratic Party the My Step Alliance (19868 characters), the (14%) considered social issues the most of- Citizen’s Decision - Social-Democratic Party ten. (12826 characters) and the We Party Allian- ce (12460 characters) - and least relevant for The National Progress Party (8%), the Chris- the Republican Party of Armenia (1126 cha- tian-Democratic Rebirth Party (12%) and the racters). Republican Party of Armenia (13%) paid the least attention to economic issues, whereas A comparison of the volume of references to the Prosperous Armenia Party (60%) raised social and economic issues in pre-electoral these issues the most relevant. programmes of political parties and alliances is presented in Figure 1 below. Table 1 shows that social issues were mentioned especially frequently by the Citizen’s

In summary, social and economic issues in pre-electoral programmes were most often mentioned by the My Step Alliance (27800 characters), the Citizen’s Decision - Social-Democratic Party (23546 characters), the We Party Alliance (15921 characters) and the Bright Armenia Party (15348 characters).

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Social and economic issues and suggested solutions in the pre-electoral programmes of political parties and alliances

Republican Party of Armenia guarantee a decent quality of life in old age. The total volume of the RPA‘s pre-electoral By doing so, the party tries to highlight the programme consists of 4.7 pages and 8453 success it has achieved in the past. Notab- characters. Of these, 0.5 pages or 967 charac- ly, the RPA addresses the armed forces, and ters were allocated to social issues and 0.6 especially the officers in its pre-electoral pro- pages or 1126 characters to economic issues. gramme, mentioning that there is a need to strengthen this sector‘s social guarantees. According to its pre-electoral programme, the RPA is a party with a national conser- Economic Sector vative ideology. Its pre-electoral slogan is “If you are concerned about […] vote for Re- The RPA’s programme dedicates 1126 cha- publican”, which does not refer to the ideo- racters to the economy. The party‘s platform logy of the party. The aim of this slogan is emphasises its efforts during the previous most probably to contradict the MSA and legislative period that secured easy access to position itself as an oppositional party. to appropriate markets, a stable and develo ping energy infrastructure, and tangible pre Social Sector requisites for intensive agriculture for the RA.

In its pre-electoral programme, the Repub- The pre-electoral programme of the RPA lican Party of Armenia addresses the follo- emphasizing that economic growth should wing social aspects: employment (142 cha- aim to provide the conditions for the self-re- racters), health issues (320 characters) and alisation of every individual through employ- the pension scheme (505 characters), and ment and entrepreneurship. does not address issues related to labour legislation or housing security. To achieve this, one of the preconditions (but not the only one) is freedom from all kinds of The RPA mentions that it will promote the cre- monopolies. As a second precondition, the ation of high-paid jobs, continue training the RPA mentions consistent progress the de- labour force, and thus create new opportuni- velopment of infrastructure and institutions. ties for employees. The policy of continuous Further, the party notes that these should be labour force training is most probably aimed seen as continuous processes, which require at preventing unemployment in the country. clearly defined economic priorities.

While addressing health issues, the party To build a competitive economy, the party pri- highlights these as a priority for human ca- oritises the promotion of exports, the increa- pital and sees the development of this sec- se of labour efficiency through the imple- tor through the optimisation of costs in this mentation of modern technologies and the system. The RPA emphasizing the need to encouragement of small and medium-sized discuss the concept of compulsory insuran- entrepreneurship. ce move to next line in the future. In the best case, it suggests extending the insurance Relations with the Eurasian Economic Union model used for public servants to other sec- (EAEU), the European Union (EU) and Iran are tors. considered foreign policy issues rather than economic issues, and there is no reference While addressing the social security system, to these issues in the RPA’s pre-electoral pro- the RPA asserts that the current model will gram.

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However, it should be mentioned that the par- Social Sector ty considers a possible exit from the EAEU irresponsible and emphasizing that after re- Regarding social issues, the CDSDP’s turning to power, they will support the same pre-electoral programme dedicates 950 policy as the previous government. Regar- characters to employment, 1649 to labour ding the EU and Iran, the party emphasizing legislation, 5293 to the health system, 2547 the fact that a framework agreement with to pension schemes, and 281 to housing the EU exists and that the country (present- security. The pre-electoral program of the ly) has good neighbourly relations with Iran. CDSDP covers all of the social aspects highlighted in this study. Analysis of the RPA’s pre-electoral video statements shows that there is no serious re- Regarding the employment issue, the ference to social or economic issues, other CDSDP therefore emphasizing that the state than the fact that the party slogan beginning is responsible for implementing effective “I’m concerned about […]” also appears in a policies for job creation, and sees the issue socially-oriented variant. In these videos, the of employment in total as a state compe- health sector is presented from the perspec- tence. It suggests the partial de-commercial- tive of the party’s achievements, highlighting isation of the market economy as one po- its efforts to guarantee the health of Armeni- tential solution. Further, it suggests different an citizens. Overall, the RPA‘s two video sta- projects and capacity building to prepare the tements are largely oriented towards contra- youth for various employment opportunities. dicting the “My Step” party. The CDSDP is the only party participating in The RPA‘s public meetings were mostly held the 2018 parliamentary elections that explic- in a closed format, not involving the general itly discusses solutions in the area of labour public, so it was not possible to analyse law. The party gives an essential role to la- these. bour unions by providing them the possibility to get involved in the development of labour legislation on issues such as the minimum wage, the basket of goods for the consum- Citizen’s Decision - Social-Democratic er price index and similar procedures. More- Party over, it is suggested that each year labour unions should present their requirements The volume of the pre-electoral program- per sector regarding the minimum wage and me of the CDSDP consists of 42.4 pages or other working conditions. The CDSDP also 76007 characters, of which 6 pages or 10720 suggests implementing structural legislative characters are allocated to the social sector changes for unions of employers and work- and 7.1 pages or 12826 characters to the ers by implementing an essential part of so- economic sector. cial politics through the power of collective contract signing. The party also foresees oth- According to the party’s name and its er functions to be delegated to labour unions pre-electoral programme, social democracy such as acting as a controlling authority for is the ideological basis of the CDSDP. The resolving labour disputes and regulating the pre-electoral slogan of the CDSDP is “The Fu- conditions of labour relations. At the same ture is Yours”, which is related to the party’s time, the party’s pre-electoral program does political ideology as well as its pre-electoral not neglect the role of employer unions as programme. representatives of trilateral social cooperation. According to the party’s vision, the state is to fulfil the role of arbitrator in relations between employers and labour unions.

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The CDSDP proposes encouraging informal sector and proposes that the state should employees and the self-employed to for- exercise a monitoring function with regard to malise their job status, which in their opinion the price of laboratory and instrumental diag- will allow these employees to become tax- nostic examination. payers and make use of services provided by the state including pensions, the national The CDSDP also discusses the pension sys- health service, specialised training and high- tem. Moving the informal and self-employed er education. workforces into the formal sector is the only way to make them beneficiaries of the - pen In the health sector, the CDSDP suggests sion system. This will allow them to become the implementation of compulsory health taxpayers and to use guarantees provided by insurance, in which the state should play an the state. In this context, the party suggests essential role. Moreover, it is proposed that developing optimal taxation mechanisms for a state insurance authority should be estab- women in rural areas engaged only in agricul- lished by involving private insurance compa- ture, giving them the opportunity to make use nies. Such state health insurance should be of childcare allowances and high pensions. overarching and obligatory. Initially, the state health insurance should cover health issues The CDSDP suggests including unpaid work that are excluded from private insurance pro- in the calculation of working experience. In tection and are considered more vulnerable particular, the period spent taking care of in terms of social security. The party sug- a child with disabilities or elderly persons gests implementing the first stage of this should be fully calculated as working expe- overarching, obligatory state insurance in the rience. field of oncology by covering all costs from the insurance fund. In its pre-electoral pro- Regarding the pension system, the CDSDP gram, the party also suggests approaches highlights some areas of interrelation be- for controlling insurance funds and for their tween the social and cultural sectors. Firstly, effective implementation. Further, the par- the party’s pre-electoral program highlights ty emphasizing that the development of the the role of employees in the cultural sector health sector should be carried out in stag- and suggests that the gratitude of society es, leading to modernisation. Diagnostic and towards notable artists should be expressed therapeutic procedures should be developed through pension increases rather than titles, for all diseases and syndromes, involving medals or other ceremonial distinctions. specialised medical associations and chairs Secondly, the party emphasizing ensuring of the Yerevan State Medical University. the participation of retired persons in cultural life. The party also proposes early detection examinations (screening studies) throughout The CDSDP also targets housing securi- the country as an important approach to in- ty issues for certain social groups, such as creasing the effectiveness of early detection military officers. The pre-electoral program and the treatment of cancer. emphasizing that solving these important issues would thereby increase the social secu- The CDSDP considers tobacco addiction an rity of these groups. illness and suggests combating smoking, instead of smokers. Economic Sector

The CDSDP also suggests that all specialists In the CDSDP’s pre-electoral program, 12862 in the health sector should be required to characters are dedicated to the economy. pass qualification exams. The party targets the phenomenon of corruption in the health The program foresees the abolition of

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monopolies and the creation of equal rules, cialists as well as education issues related as well as the development of the primary, to the energy economy. secondary, tertiary and in the long term qua- ternary (referring to advanced technologies) As part of the economy, the CDSDP highlights sectors of the economy. In doing so, the par- the development of military industry. ty intends to transform the economy by shifting it from mining and agriculture to industry, The party’s pre-electoral program also consid- services and advanced technology. Paral- ers the question of recognition for compen- lel to these economic developments, there sation regarding illegal enrichment and right should be a withdrawal from the metal min- of ownership of assets acquired through ille- ing industry. Metal mines should be explored gal enrichment. only in exceptional cases where required by development and this exploration should be It is worth mentioning that in its pre-electoral fully under state management and control. program, the CDSDP makes no reference to the EAEU, the EU or Iran, neither in the eco- In its pre-electoral program, the party states nomic nor in the foreign policy areas. that it seeks to reduce the burden of public debt, decrease current expenditures and in- The analysis of five CDSDP pre-electoral vid- crease the fiscal space through responsible eo statements shows the main cornerstones and effective fiscal policy. of the party’s pre-election program presented in four of these videos, on the topics of Regarding tax policy, the CDSDP suggests the constitution, environmental protection, implementing multifunctional and flexible health and the economy. In a separate video, tax zoning and targeting strategies to ensure the party presents its vision for a prosperous the balanced development of regions that state by emphasising that in a social state, are less economically competitive, as well the citizen should both determine the state’s as the inclusion of economically neglected policy and be guided by the pre-electoral communities in free market conditions. An programs and ideologies of political parties individual taxation approach is proposed for and alliances for voting. The main message implementation, according to which citizens of this video is that if a citizen neglects to will be taxed at different rates, depending on participate in voting, he or she will be faced their social circumstances. with a parliament very unsuited to his or her needs, becoming a “policy consumer”. The CDSDP considers the agricultural sector from the perspective of food security. Its For this study, four meetings of the CDS- pre-electoral program emphasizing that im- DP with voters were analysed. During one ports of agricultural products should be min- of these meetings, which took place in the imized, replaced with locally produced high village of Lichk5 in Gegharkunik Province, quality goods. CDSDP representatives promised to address labour and health issues by highlighting the The pre-electoral program also presents issue of medical insurance. Moreover, the suggestions for the energy industry, such as party representatives noted that people the improvement of energy efficiency, the should be informed about their right to re- creation of a sufficient production and trans- ceive social protection by the state in return mission system by natural growth of energy for paying taxes. During this meeting, they consumption, the re-equipment of the power also discussed tax exemptions for business- distribution system, the wide application of es in remote locations, which, according to renewable energy, etc. The party also priori- the CDSDP’s representatives, should lead to tises the involvement of highly qualified spe- dispersal of the business concentrated

5. https://www.facebook.com/sdcdp/videos/1568395306629085

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in the capital. They also presented their Social Sector stance on maternity allowance as well as a calculation of the work experience gained by In its pre-electoral program, the ARF targets young mothers and others caring for children. all of the social issues important to this re- In addition, the need for the development of search. It dedicates 653 characters to em- labour unions was discussed. ployment, 415 to labour legislation, 171 to the health system, 132 to pension schemes, During the pre-electoral meetings in Yerevan, and 144 to housing security. the CDSDP representatives presented essential cornerstones of their program by explain- For employment security, the ARF plans to ing social and economic issues in a simple make the public services sector attractive manner. During the meeting with the party through dignified remuneration. Furthermore, representatives in Yeghegnadzor, the capi- the party proposes that for citizens in diffi- tal of Vayots Dzor Province, questions were cult life conditions, the state should provide raised about the mining industry. Here is a better opportunities for entering the labour quotation from a CDSDP representative on market by implementing active policies. the subject: “We will never allow new mines to be opened until the damages caused by In the ARF’s program, special attention is giv- previous mines have been compensated”. en to the protection of workers’ rights. The During the same meeting, one of the ques- party suggests creating opportunities for cit- tions referred to women’s issues, in response izens to exercise their right to have dignified to which the CDSDP candidate presented jobs. According to party’s program, employ- the stance that farming as well as childcare ment should ensure not only existence but should be calculated as working experience. a dignified life for citizens, and employees should be able to exercise their right to recre- By evaluating the answers to questions ation, education, health services and cultural raised during pre-electoral meetings and as- and spiritual values. semblies, it is clear that the CDSDP representatives addressed these questions in accor- Regarding health issues, the ARF suggests dance with the cornerstones of the party’s creating a health insurance system that will pre-electoral program. allow all citizens to receive treatment and eliminate cases of non-treatment due to in- sufficient financial resources. Armenian Revolutionary Federation Party In its pre-electoral program, the ARF propos- The total volume of the ARF’s pre-electoral es a guarantee of the well-being of elderly program consists of 10.1 pages or 18143 people. The party finds intolerable that there characters, of which 0.8 pages or 1515 char- is poverty among senior citizens who have acters are allocated to the social sector and earned their living through honest work. 2.7 pages or 4808 characters to the economic sector. The ARF targets demographic problems as well, and asserts that demographic disasters According to the pre-electoral program, the can be prevented by solving the problem of ARF is a political party guided by nation- housing security. al-democratic-socialist-revolutionary ideologies. The pre-electoral slogan of the ARF is The difficulty of establishing a family can “Faithful to Land and Armenians” which is also be solved if a contribution is made to linked to its pre-electoral program and the the housing security of young families. nationalistic component of its ideology.

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Economic Sector The party emphasizing in its program that the development of the agricultural sector is a In the ARF’s pre-electoral program, sugges- precondition for rural development. For rural tions regarding the economic sector com- and agricultural development, the party sug- prise 4804 characters. To guarantee eco- gests providing targeted assistance directly nomic development, the party suggests that to farmers instead to intermediary organisa- the state adopt a regulatory function, and in tions. To promote agricultural development, special cases the role of the engine of eco- it is important to promote the creation of nomic development. Through effective in- farm co-operatives, voluntary land consolida- terventions the state should prevent market tion and the reduction of unused agricultural failures, monopolies and abuses of dominat- land. At the same time, it is emphasised that ing positions. In its pre-electoral program, the the state, communities and actors in the pri- ARF emphasizing the need for state policies vate sector should invest in the development directed towards the elimination and reduc- of agricultural infrastructure. tion of over-exploitation, the complex management of natural resources and the fair The ARF’s program also focuses on the is- distribution of wealth derived from the use sues of small and medium-sized enterprises of natural resources among all members of by emphasizing the present need for state society. support. According to the party’s program, unreasonable and draconian conditions of- Further, the state should encourage entrepre- fered by banking and credit organisations neurs by ensuring fair conditions for compe- impede the development of these enterpris- tition and clear rules for doing business. The es. To promote business development, the state should cooperate with the private sec- ARF proposes that the state should establish tor, collaboratively share business risk and joint venture companies with these enterpris- lead in those areas where the risk is greater, es, and provide them with venture financing, profitability is less or private funding is lack- loans and other privileges. For business de- ing. The ARF points out that even the most velopment, the ARF also suggests reducing liberal and conservative political movements the burden of inspection. Particular attention around the world aim to support businesses is paid to the current and future needs of the in their own countries. Therefore the party economy while formulating a state educa- suggests implementing a protectionist national program. tional business strategy. To do so, it proposes substantially reforming the public admin- In its pre-electoral program, the ARF makes istration system. In its pre-electoral program, no reference to the EAEU, the EU or Iran. the party suggests reviewing tariffs for services provided by natural monopolies. Observing the pre-electoral video statements of the ARF, it is clear that they reflect the par- The ARF proposes implementing progressive ty’s nationalistic ideology, the core of which taxation policy, emphasizing the principle refers to agriculture as “the land that needs of “a higher rate on the wealthy than on the to be cultivated” and to employment issues poor”. The party asserts that it is possible to as “the Armenian who must have a job”. This eliminate income polarisation and social in- emphasizing that the cultivating and working justice. In its pre-electoral program, the par- nature of the Armenian people is of the high- ty argues against the application of a single est value. income tax rate because it asserts that this cannot mitigate social inequality. The principle of progressive taxation should also be applied to property and land taxes.

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Analysis of the first pre-electoral pub- gets all important social issues relevant to lic assembly (November 26th, 2018) of A. this research. It dedicates 2244 characters Rustamyan shows that he touched upon the to employment, 397 to labour legislation, issue of employment by emphasising em- 4228 to the health system, 782 to pension ployees’ professional qualities, not the role schemes and 281 to housing security. of personal relationships. In its pre-electoral program, the MSA sug- He also presented the ARF’s negative posi- gests solving employment problems through tions on liberal economic policy as well as the development of an effective employment economic monopolies in the country. During policy. For this purpose, the MSA intends to the pre-electoral meeting on December 3rd, analyse both trends in the domestic labour 2018, in the village of Jrvezh in Kotayk Prov- market and the development of employment ince, a question for the ARF representatives policy in other countries. Moreover, econom- referred to their vision of the country’s eco- ic policy will be based on employment expan- nomic development. The response was: sion and investment to encourage employ- “Dashnaktsutyun believes that at the mo- ment. An active labour market policy will be ment, the state’s participation in the econ- the priority of the MSA. omy is very weak; we believe that the role of the state should be strengthened and its All programs developed will be aimed at get- share should be increased”. During these ting permanent and sustainable jobs and meetings, questions related to the social reintegration into the labour market. There- sector were also asked. All answers reflect fore, reforms will also be carried out in the the main approaches of the ARF summed up State Employment Agency. Corresponding in its pre-election program. package programs to address employment issues should be developed by 2023.

“My Step” Party Alliance Young people, women, and low-skilled workers facing unemployment due to structural The total volume of the MSA’s pre-electoral changes in the labour market will be partic- program consists of 51.4 pages or 92603 ular targets of policy in this sector. The fo- characters, of which 4.4 pages or 7932 char- cus here will be on the development of skills acters are allocated to the social sector and and abilities, job-search assistance and the 11 pages or 19868 characters to the econom- creation of new employment opportunities. ic sector. As an important step in reforming the unemployment benefit system, the MSA has envis- According to the contents of the MSA’s aged making some components of employ- pre-election program, it is most plausibly ment policies mandatory for unemployed classified as having an ideology of social-lib- beneficiaries. eralism, but there are also principles in the program that are most typical of neo-social- The labour concept of the MSA is wider and ism and/or social-democratic ideologies. broader. It aims to create a constant and ef- The pre-election slogan of the MSA is “Hap- fective connection between education and py Individual, Solidary Society, Strong State”, the labour market. Therefore, the MSA plans which is consistent with the content of the to implement professional orientation mod- pre-election program. ules and corresponding groups in secondary school and a two-week professional intern- Social Sector ship in the second half of the 11th grade for high school students, as well as provide com- In its pre-electoral program, the MSA tar- prehensive information about the demands

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of the labour market, career development op- infrastructure and developing the potential of portunities and salaries for final grade school qualified professionals. students to ensure that students can make informed decisions. When speaking about In its pre-election program, the MSA also labour legislation, in MSA’s pre-electoral mentions that it will implement healthy life- program highlights the importance of imple- style campaigns and develop measures to menting measures to protect labour rights. It reduce risk-factors contributing to the occur- also states that the cornerstone of the MSA’s rence of common non-infectious diseases economic policy is the creation of dignified among the population. employment opportunities for Armenian citizens by expanding the competitive advantag- In the health sector, the MSA intends to give es of the Armenian economy. priority to international standards and guide- lines. The alliance also plans to introduce In its pre-electoral program, the MSA also effective control systems for drug quality, presents its vision for the health system. safety and efficiency, as well as for delivery According to the program, one of the key and distribution. It considers appropriate the goals of MSA policy is to improve the qual- full implementation of an e-Health system ity and accessibility of services provided by will ensure the accessibility of citizens’ med- the health system, especially in the context ical data via online accounts. Moreover, this of primary healthcare. Special attention will system will enable the targeted, effective and be paid to the improvement of maternal and transparent allocation of funds. child health, reproductive health and adoles- cent health. The health policy plans of the The MSA plans to increase public health MSA foresee implementation of a compul- spending in the state budget over the next sory health insurance scheme. In addition, three years by 2% of GDP, and over the next the efforts of the MSA should be directed to- five years by 3% of GDP. According to the alli- wards the reduction of corruption and unof- ance, the increase in health financing should ficial procedures as well as the improvement be combined with the targeted use of finan- of competitiveness in the health sector by cial resources. introducing an objective system of budget allocation and spending. In the field of health- By 2023, the MSA plans to increase pensions care, the MSA will be guided by the principles by making savings in the state system and of equality, social justice and solidarity. finding new sources of revenue. The MSA envisages the implementation of reforms to Some of the mechanisms for improving the mandatory funded pension system and primary healthcare services are a salary in- to the legislative regulation of investment in crease for healthcare workers, their contin- mandatory pension fund assets. ued vocational education, re-equipment of medical organisations and the expansion The MSA also plans to implement reforms of early detection examinations (screening to the provision of unemployment allowanc- studies). The implementation of these mech- es by making some components of employ- anisms will improve the prevention and early ment policy mandatory for unemployed ben- detection of diseases, leading to a reduction eficiaries. in the incidence of premature death and dis- ability due to a number of diseases. The alliance plans to develop affordable housing schemes for young families, to miti- With regard to the provinces, the MSA intends gate negative demographic trends. to develop and implement programs for the balanced distribution of regional healthcare

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Economic Sector According to the MSA’s pre-election program, it is necessary to create competitive The MSA’s pre-electoral program dedicates and efficient agriculture based on innovative 19868 characters to the economy. technologies and a scientific base. This will be accomplished by implementing a new- In the short term, the alliance plans to reduce ly developed water resource management administrative burdens, eliminate barriers to strategy and state support programs for the doing business, simplify tax and customs modernisation of irrigation systems. Further- policies, invest in infrastructure and boost more, the party plans to: expand the scope of exports. The state should play a role in eco- arable land and the use of irrigated land; cre- nomic development by consistently develop- ate economic and legal opportunities for the ing competitiveness and eliminating obsta- cultivation of unused farmland; increase the cles to growth and development. targeting of subsidisation mechanisms; and promote the development of cooperative ag- The program highlights the importance of riculture by ensuring minimum prerequisites creating necessary and sufficient condi- for the establishment of cooperatives. Edu- tions for the promotion of competitiveness cational-research and industrial clusters will throughout all sectors of the economy, ensur- be created to promote a deeper cooperation ing balanced territorial development through between the Ministry of Agriculture and the continuous improvement of value-generating centres of the agrarian sector with educa- infrastructure, the improvement of public pol- tional, scientific, scientific-industrial and con- icy through the continuous dialogue with the sulting functions. private sector, and the introduction of effective institutions to address market failures. The alliance also plans to promote the use of agro-food system equipment and new tech- According to the MSA, as priorities for eco- nologies, as well as food security systems. nomic reform, special attention will be given The pre-electoral program also envisages in- to high-tech industry, processing and light troducing an agricultural insurance system. manufacturing, high-value agriculture and Concrete actions should be undertaken to tourism. To ensure economic development, promote the implementation of anti-hail pro- the following steps should be taken: elimi- tection systems as well as state support pro- nate all bureaucratic restrictions on starting, grams for domestic seed breeding and seed developing and dissolving a business; pro- production, intensive agriculture and live- mote the commercialisation of intellectual stock breeding. The pre-electoral program achievements by improving legislation on also aims at promoting non-agricultural ac- intellectual property rights; establish a fair, tivities in rural communities and the develop- understandable and predictable environment ment of agro-tourism. for entrepreneurs and investors by improving taxation legislation; and raise the coun- The MSA’s pre-electoral program also ad- try’s competitiveness and investment attrac- dresses tourism development as a separate tiveness. To create a favourable investment sector of the economy. The party plans to de- climate, a reduction in the existing rates of velop and adopt a new law on tourism with profit tax, income tax and dividend tax is en- corresponding sub-legislative and legal acts visaged. Specifically, the current 20% profit that will contribute to the creation of a favour- tax will be reduced to 18%, the dividends of able business and investment environment residents and non-residents will be taxed at in this area. In order to increase the flow of a combined rate of 5%, and an income tax tourists to Armenia, active marketing activi- flat rate will be set at 23% by 2019, which will ties with the use of modern tools are envis- gradually decrease to 20% by 2023. aged. It also plans to diversify and make

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Armenia more accessible by air and land With regard to the EU, the MSA intends to routes. take steps towards the best possible implementation of the Comprehensive and En- In its pre-electoral program, the MSA also tar- hanced Partnership Agreement between EU gets the IT sector as a separate segment of and Armenia (CEPA), as well as to deepen the economy. It plans to promote the devel- cooperation with the EU member states and opment of competitive brands of high-tech other European countries. It also intends to products and ensure the proper presentation ensure that Armenian citizens have free ac- of high-demand products in international cess to the EU. markets. Further, it plans to promote the introduction and application of advanced tech- Two pre-electoral video statements by the nologies in industry, agriculture, education, MSA were analysed in this study, but these healthcare and other sectors. Based on exist- statements make no direct references to the ing infrastructures, the alliance also intends issues analysed in the study. The content of to develop the effective operation of modern the first video statement is a call for revolu- technology centres in the Armenian provinc- tion at the individual level and the second is es and to undertake measures to create new a message to build a new Armenia. centres under the concept of the “IT Village”. The promotion of access to the Armenian The analysis of three of the MSA’s pre-elector- market for high-tech IT and ICT companies al assemblies shows that during these meet- is also planned. In this regard, the pre-elec- ings, the issues targeted in this study were toral program envisages legislative reforms reflected in both the speeches and the ques- and improvements to the corresponding le- tions and answers. During the pre-election gal framework. meeting in Yerevan on December 5th, 2018, N. Pashinyan touched upon the issue of monop- With respect to foreign affairs, including eco- olies in economic policy with the example of nomic relations with Iran, the MSA plans to gas stations, noting that in the gas stations develop and implement a plan for the intro- of “well-known people”, turnover doubled fol- duction of new energy trade mechanisms. In lowing tax inspections. He also mentioned the context of strengthening relations with that since June, gas prices have dropped for Iran, the alliance highlights the importance socially vulnerable consumers. During the of implementing economically effective proj- same meeting, he also noted that the issue ects aimed at the development of infrastruc- of renegotiating the price of gas should be ture to enhance energy independence and discussed within the framework of the EAEU security. session. During the rally in the town of Ma- sis6 in the Province of Ararat on December 3rd, In the MSA’s pre-electoral program, relations 2018, N. Pashinyan spoke about agriculture with the countries of the EAEU, the EU and by presenting approaches from the MSA’s Iran are considered foreign policy issues, and pre-election program. there are no references to economic factors in the relationships with these countries. During a pre-electoral meeting in the town of Ashtarak in the Province of Aragatsotn on However, the MSA intends to develop mu- December 4th, 2018, one of the participants tually beneficial cooperation and to deepen raised a question about unemployment - the bilateral relations with the countries of the MSA representative replied: “new employ- Eurasian region within the framework of the ment opportunities will be created and this EAEU, the Collective Security Treaty Organi- issue will be finally solved” without providing sation (CSTO) and the Commonwealth of In- any further details. dependent States (CIS).

6. https://www.facebook.com/nikol.pashinyan/videos/1987996231502728/

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Bright Armenia Party same time emphasizing that the state should The BAP’s pre-electoral program consists of assist any person in need of urgent medical 28.3 pages and 50868 characters, of which care. 2.2 pages or 3909 characters are allocated to the social sector and 6.4 pages or 1149 The BAP’s pre-electoral program outlines the characters to the economic sector. following goals in the field of healthcare: a high quality of medical services, accessibility, The content of the pre-election program disease monitoring and early prevention, the makes clear that the BAP’s ideology is based promotion of a healthy lifestyle, increased on liberalism. targeting of public health expenditure, implementation of an e-Health system, market and The pre-electoral slogan of the BAP is “Bright competitive pricing of health services, grad- Armenia” which relates to the name of the ual implementation of a compulsory health party as well as to the pre-election program. insurance system, targeted development of the laboratory system, efficient and transpar- Social Sector ent mechanisms of budget allocation, modernisation of regional hospitals, the provision In the pre-electoral program of the BAP, 689 of new services by the healthcare system, characters are dedicated to employment, capacity building for the system, the export 66 to labour legislation, 2268 to the health of medical services, the introduction of ser- system, 7833 to pension schemes and 153 vice groups for understaffed professions to housing security. Therefore, the party ad- and qualitative development programs in Ar- dressed all social aspects highlighted in this menia, and the introduction of strategies for study. fighting cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, thyroid diseases and malignant neoplasms. The BAP allocates a special section called “Job market development” to the issue of em- In order to achieve these goals, the party ployment. According to the BAP, by solving proposes the following steps: increase the the unemployment problem, the population quality, availability and scope of polyclinic will change (increase). For concrete steps, services; regulate the treatments of different the BAP mentions an increase in labour mar- diseases into three categories (state-funded, ket flexibility, the elimination of informal em- partly state-funded, and paid by the individu- ployment, an increase in the quality of the al), revising price lists to prevent incremental workforce based on vocational education, payments from being higher than the min- the promotion of professional mobility, a imum wage (which can often be triple cur- strengthening of the link between the labour rently); make certain medical interventions market and unemployed citizens, develop- and remedies completely free, including the ment and the application of a labour market transfusion of blood and blood substitutes, and education interconnection concept, the CT scans with urgent indications, stenting of provision of adult continued education, etc. cardiac vessels, and endovascular surgery of the cerebral vessels; implement mechanisms The BAP also targets issues related to the for monitoring the targeted expenditure of protection of workers’ rights by introducing state funds at state-owned hospitals; pro- the role of labour mediator and business ad- vide free childcare services to any healthcare vocacy institutes. According to the party’s vi- facility in Armenia, without the prior referral sion for healthcare, it should be of high quali- of polyclinics; encourage the employment of ty, effective, accessible and transparent. The doctors in the provinces; regulate and man- BAP suggests free medical care only on the age drug supply; coordinate adequate sala- basis of the principle of social justice, at the ries, pricing and transparent finance; and

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encourage investments in modern technol- term development of the country, based on ogies for understaffed specialised medical structural and institutional reforms. Accord- institutions. ing to the party, the citizens of the Republic of Armenia should be at the centre of all re- Regarding pension schemes, the BAP sug- forms, and therefore economic development gests substantial improvements to the cur- should focus on individuals as the drivers of rent accumulative pension system. To create economic growth. The BAP considers it nec- platforms for the development of financial essary to ensure the innovative development markets and long-term pension savings strat- and qualitative progress of the economy. It egies, it is necessary to take steps to direct proposes the establishment of an advoca- accumulated funds to the real sector of the cy institute for business interests. The state Armenian economy. At the same time, paral- should play the role of ensuring an equal and lel to the increase of pensions, it is necessary competitive environment. to implement a compulsory health insurance scheme for pensioners, as well as reduce In regard to the banking system, the party pension polarisation. considers it necessary to develop a new plan for control over the Central Bank (CBA) and With regard to family allowances, the party to implement new tools. Moreover, the party proposes the provision on benefits to chil- suggests suspending the management of the dren, introducing children’s cards, free ac- Central Depository from the CBA and creating cess to kindergartens, educational institu- a new authorised independent authority. Ac- tions, etc. The BAP proposes the introduction cording to the party’s pre-electoral program, of a mechanism to encourage beneficiaries it is necessary to set a maximum amount for of state aid to work, through the provision of expired penalties for crediting, bank branches temporary privileges in the form of return on should be accessible in the cross-border re- income taxes. gions of Armenia, the PayPal system should be implemented in Armenia, etc. The party also proposes adopting a law for multi-member large families, which will regu- According to the BAP, the tax and customs late the issue of measurable privileges. system should be productive and have the capacity to reduce the informal economy as well Regarding the issue of housing construction, as improve the business environment. In this the BAP mentions the families left homeless regard, it is important to ensure the stability after the 1988 earthquake. The party sug- of tax revenues. Hence, the party proposes a gests prioritising their housing problems. gradual shift from punitive policy to establishing partnerships with the taxpayer. The party Economic Sector also recommends revising real estate taxation mechanisms and provisions as well as The BAP dedicates 11439 characters to the enlarging the scope of double taxation agree- economy. In its pre-election program, the ments. The BAP highlights the importance of BAP presents general concepts for econom- initiating programs to harmonise approaches ic development that refer to tax and customs between the State Revenue Committee of Ar- policy, the banking system, the innovation menia, which implements policy in this sector, environment, industry, agriculture, the ener- and the Ministry of Finance, as well as pro- gy system, IT, communications and trans- grams for fostering their collaboration. port, tourism, etc. Thus, the BAP foresees the socio-economic development of Armenia The BAP’s pre-electoral program proposes the through the implementation of a strategic redistribution of the tax burden to large busi- program that will ensure the sustainable long- nesses, setting tax breaks of 3 years for

20 Ruben Sargsyan | Social and Economic Policies During Armenian Parliamentary Elections

microenterprises and tax exemptions. The technologies, state support for anti-hail sys- party suggests a clear fixing of the revenue tems, providing assistance to the entities tax rate at 115 million Drams, setting a com- that process agricultural products, increasing mon rate of income tax on profit tax, introduc- the competitiveness of wine production and ing a luxury tax, fixing the minimum wage to quality, state support for agricultural credits, the average price of the consumer basket and gradual introduction of agricultural insurance, revising the property tax base. creating a national map for crop rotation, community land mapping and imaging from In general, the BAP suggests reducing the space. number of taxes. The party proposes giving tax privileges to sectoral groups rather than For the modernisation of the energy system, individual economic entities. the party emphasizing the importance of Ar- menia’s energy independence and security. It With regard to customs clearance, the party therefore considers necessary an increase in proposes switching completely to electronic alternative energy sources, the ensuring of en- customs clearance and eliminating import ergy efficiency and sustainable development control prices. It considers a revision of the of the energy sector, the continued develop- existing liability for customs and tax offenses ment of nuclear energy and the introduction necessary. of modern methods for energy efficiency as well as new technologies. The BAP suggests the mandatory declaration of income and property for public servants, With regard to the information technology their family members and affiliated persons, sector, the BAP highlights the importance of as well as monitoring mechanisms by the tax providing IT security, cyber security and in- inspectorate. creased personal data protection, developing the quality of professional skills in this sector, To regulate the innovation environment, the developing and implementing an ICT develop- party considers necessary the implementa- ment strategy, forming of an Armenian brand, tion of state instruments that promote private raising competitiveness, creating new tech- investment and create venture funds. nology centres in the provinces, promoting cooperation between science and the private According to the BAP, to stimulate industry, sector, building and continuing development the necessary minimal steps are the creation of institutional and scientific capacities for of a communication platform between sci- promoting the adoption of world-renowned ence and industry, the establishment of coop- technologies, promoting the commercialisa- erative relationships with the industrial cen- tion of scientific results, using local compet- tres of the EAEU and the EU, an increase in itive IT products, and improving the quality, processing industry in the overall structure of speed and accessibility of ICT services. industry, etc. The party also stresses the idea of creating “Investor Support Houses”. In the transport sector, the pre-election program emphasizing the need for significant- With regard to the development of agricul- ly improving the quality and safety of roads, ture, the BAP highlights the importance of in- continuously developing transport infrastruc- creasing agricultural productivity, developing ture, increasing the competitiveness of the high-quality agriculture, improving the food transport industry, ensuring access to trans- security situation, introducing modern tech- portation and services, increasing the volume nologies, import substitution, state support of freight transportation, promoting private in- for agricultural machinery leasing, subsidis- vestments, continuously developing the road ing interest rates for implementing modern management system, creating a national

21 Ruben Sargsyan | Social and Economic Policies During Armenian Parliamentary Elections

railway system, involving a private opera- ous strengthening and development of mutu- tor in the overall railway system, introducing al trust and partnership in all spheres. In the electronic management and a unified ticket cultural section, it is mentioned that a Meghri- system, increasing transport safety, imple- Iran-Artsakh cultural hub should be formed. menting technical inspection of vehicles and the operation of gas tanks, developing Two BAP pre-electoral video advertisement railway transport infrastructure, developing statements were analysed. These videos do alternative toll roads, organising affordable not refer directly to the issues related to this air transportation, involving budget airlines, study. The key message of these clips is to expanding the range of flight destinations, build a new, bright Armenia together. developing small-scale aviation, acquiring a helicopter park for agricultural agrochem- With regard to pre-electoral assemblies, rallies istry and tourism purposes, applying a 10% and meetings, in some of the nine observed VAT rate for passenger transport companies rallies, BAP representatives were asked about that make a commitment to modernise their the return of bank deposits7 , unemployment8 vehicles, building partnerships with low-cost and the minimum wage9. companies, and increasing the number of electric vehicles. The response to the bank deposit repayment issue was that the current government’s ap- For the development of the tourism sector, proach is wrong, and that these mistakes the party suggests the following kinds of re- should be corrected later. Regarding the un- forms: improvement of tourist infrastructure employment issue, the party’s representa- and road infrastructure density, state support tives responded that they plan to create jobs for the promotion of ecological, rural lifestyle and will do everything to reduce the number tourism, introduction of tourist crossroads, of people unemployed. improvement of territories near water basins and organisation of tourism-related water Referring to the question about the minimum sports, increase of tourism-related translation wage, the party representative’s response services, introduction of a seasonal timetable was “Nothing will be achieved by merely rais- for electric railways to Gyumri and Sevan, de- ing the threshold, since the employer will development of health-related tourism and cre- ceive the state. There is a need to promote ation of tourist infrastructure in communities. professions that are in demand.” During one of the meetings10 in the provinces, E. Maruk- In its pre-election program, the party targets yan touched upon the issues of agriculture, economic cooperation with the EAEU and the problems of consumption of local agricul- the EU, highlighting this particularly in terms tural products as well as water and anti-hail of industrial development. In addition to the protection issues. In essence, the speeches economic section, in the foreign policy sec- and the answers to the questions during the tion of the pre-election program, there is a ref- meetings were mostly derived from the ap- erence to Armenia’s future cooperation with proaches presented in the BAP’s pre-electoral the EAEU and the EU. program.

With regard to Iran, the BAP addresses relations in its pre-electoral program in sections related to foreign policy and culture. The party proposes taking all measures to strengthen comprehensive and close relationships with Iran, which will be based on the continu-

7. November 29th, 2018, Hrazdan town in Kotayk Province. 8. November 30th, 2018, Ashtarak town in Aragatsotn Province. 9. December 4th, 2018, Yerevan city. 10. November 30th, 2018. Talin town in Aragatsotn Province: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAn0OML-F6c

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Christian-Democratic Rebirth Party social sphere. Accordingly, the nature of eco- The pre-electoral program of the CDRP con- nomic relations should be such that socially sists of 12 pages and 21526 characters, of sustainable development assumes the social which 0.1 page or 262 characters are allocat- responsibility of all subjects. ed to the social sector and 1.4 pages or 2526 characters to the economic sector. The party suggests creating a legislative system that will ensure equal and joint responsi- Based on the content of the CDRP’s pre-elec- bility and rights for employers and employees toral program, the ideology of the party is na- alike. This will in turn lead to the creation of a tional-social-protectionism and/or ordoliber- new social order aimed at the fair distribution alism. of revenue and will overcome social polarisation. The CDRP assumes that it is necessary The pre-election slogan of the CDRP is “Alter- to prevent the formation of oligopolies and to native - Yes, Opposition - No”. protect small and medium-sized businesses. It also mentions that the development of in- Social Sector dustry should be stimulated.

The CDRP does not address all of the issues In its pre-election program the CDRP does not researched in this study in its pre-election refer to relations with the EAEU, the EU or Iran. program. It dedicates 58 characters to employment, 204 to labour legislation, and none One of the main messages of the CDRP’s to the health system, pension schemes or pre-election video statement is the alleviation housing security. of poverty.

With regard to the issue of employment, the The pre-election meetings and assemblies of party emphasizing that it is necessary to pro- the CDRP were not accessible to the general vide job opportunities to all people who are public and so could not be recorded. able and willing to work.

In its pre-electoral program, the party address- National Progress Party es labour legislation issues indirectly, noting that it aims to provide minimal living condi- The pre-electoral program of the NPP consists tions for all employees. The party considers of 13.3 pages and 23971 characters, of which it necessary to develop a legislative system 0.7 pages or 1248 characters were allocated that will ensure equal and joint responsibility to the social sector and 1 page or 1880 char- and rights for employers and employees. acters to the economic sector.

Economic Sector Based on the content of the NPP’s pre-electoral program, the ideology of the party is na- In the CDRP’s pre-electoral program, 2526 tionalistic-socialism. characters are dedicated to the economy. The economic part of its pre-election program The pre-election slogan of the NPP is “New is built on the principles of the ideology of or- Situation, New Solutions”. doliberalism. Social Sector The CDRP states that the social and economic system of Armenia should be given The NPP does not address all of the issues a “social market economy” orientation, and researched in this study in its pre-electoral it believes that the economy is essentially a program. It dedicates 292 characters to

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to employment, 73 to labour legislation, 67 mining industry. With regard to tax law viola- to the health system and 816 to pension tions, the NPP suggests tightening financial schemes, but none to housing security. responsibility and criminal accountability for affected entities. The party sees the solution to the unemployment issue in urban planning beyond Yerevan, A tightening of both legislative and licensing through construction of industrial centres, requirements for the mining industry is also cultural and educational centres, shopping proposed. Thus, according to the party, the centres and other necessary infrastructure in volume of mining will be limited and its finan- the provinces. cial attractiveness will be decreased.

With regard to labour rights, the party pro- The NPP considers the military industry, pow- poses improvement of labour legislation. er generation through solar and wind energy, electricity production, information and ad- In terms of healthcare, the party only address- vanced technologies, pharmaceutical pro- es the problem of free medical care for chil- duction, light manufacturing, agriculture and dren under the age of 18. tourism to be the dominant branches of the economy. The party also offers tax exemp- Regarding the pension system, the NPP pro- tions and incentives for the establishment of poses serious pension reforms. It suggests solar and wind power stations. As an option, replacing the mandatory pension system it also suggests exemptions from the cus- with a fully voluntary system and providing toms duty for importing electric cars. tax privileges for citizens who make their own contributions. The NPP considers it important to hold a referendum on the issue of Armenia’s member- The party also plans to offer a family mort- ship of the Commonwealth of Independent gage loan of up to 3% for 20-30 years in the States (CIS), the EAEU, the Collective Security case of a third child, as well as to increase Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and other inter- the birth allowance for each child. In essence, governmental and supranational structures. these proposals aim to promote demograph- This is proposed in the pre-electoral pro- ic growth. gram’s referendum section. There is no other reference to the EAEU. Regarding Armenia’s Economic Sector relations with the EU and other countries, the party emphasizing the need to establish sov- The suggestions for the economy in the ereign, dignified, balanced and mutually ben- pre-electoral program of the NPP consist of eficial relations. 1880 characters. The party proposes a reduction in taxes and the tax burden several times. With regard to Iran, the party emphasizing that This should be especially relevant for the mid- Armenia should build special, good-neigh- dle-class as well as small and medium-sized bourly and strategic relations with Iran, espe- businesses. The NPP suggests applying an cially in the field of energy imports and power income tax rate scale, which will reduce the processing as well as foreign trade. These tax burden for those who generate an income relations should be protected as much as of up to AMD 250,000 per month. Income tax possible from the influence of geopolitical and profit tax scales should be as close as rivalries. possible or ideally identical, and SMEs should cover businesses with up to 30 million AMD In the first sections of all four pre-electoral annual turnover. In contrast, the party pro- video poses an increase in the tax burden for the

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statements observed for this study, the NPP ment for all. The program proposes creating mocks the BAP, ARF, PAP and RPA parties. the appropriate conditions and opportunities In the second section, the party outlines its for school children, young people and society plans for the pension system and the tax sys- to have a healthy lifestyle, including safe food, tem, and states the social and economic cor- sports and personal fulfilment. nerstones of its pre-electoral program. The WPA proposes proclaiming Armenia a The pre-election meetings and assemblies of country free from negative external impacts the CDRP were not accessible to the general on human health and, accordingly, making public and could not be recorded or observed the protection of the population from environ- during this survey. mental, nutritional, domestic, radiological and other types of harm one of the state policy directions. We Party Alliance The alliance also suggests implementing The WPA’s pre-electoral program consists of an effective system of compulsory life and 28 pages or 50381 characters, of which 1.9 health insurance, expanding the range and pages or 3461 characters are allocated to the beneficiaries of free medical and co-funded social sector and 6.9 pages or 12460 charac- services provided by the state, and extending ters to the economic sector. the age up to which treatment is free from 7 years to 10 years. The WPA also considers it Based on the WPA’s pre-electoral program, important to proclaim preventive medicine as the alliance’s political ideology consists of el- Armenia’s public health policy. ements of liberalism. The alliance suggests increasing pensions The WPA’s political slogan is “Armenia First”. and the minimum wage by at least 25%. This should be done through the reduction of mo- Social Sector nopolies and the informal economy. Regard- ing the cumulative pension system, it propos- The pre-electoral program of the WPA does es replacing this mandatory component with not address all of the issues researched in voluntary ones. The WPA also plans a poverty this study. It dedicates 475 characters to em- reduction policy. According to its plan, from ployment, none to labour legislation, 1996 to 2019-2021, the Poverty Index should de- the health system, 990 to pension schemes, crease from the current 30% to at least 15%, and none to housing security. and the proportion of extremely poor people should be lower than 2%. In the WPA’s pre-election program, the issue of creating new jobs is addressed several In its pre-election program, the WPA suggests times. This should be achieved by promoting increasing the one-time childbirth allowance, the creation of processing plants, encourag- setting it at 1.5 million for the first child, 2 mil- ing the creativity and potential of young peo- lion for the second child, 2.5 million for the ple and making targeted investments and third and fourth children, and 3.5 million for effective and justified use of natural and- in the fifth child and subsequent children. It also ternal resources. proposes extending maternity leave time by 100%, as well as providing a similar possibility Regarding the health sector, the alliance sug- for fathers. gests toughening environmental legislation, and creating civil and state controlling mechanisms for ensuring a healthy social environ-

25 Ruben Sargsyan | Social and Economic Policies During Armenian Parliamentary Elections

Economic Sector aviation in Armenia, directing diaspora capital to Armenia, developing and implementing In the WPA’s pre-electoral program, sugges- sustainable water use and management con- tions related to the economic sector consist cepts, encouraging and promoting sustain- of 12460 characters. able organic agriculture programs, improving land quality and management, developing In its pre-election program, the alliance em- farming businesses, creating wholesale mar- phasizing the priorities of a competitive eco- kets with state involvement, developing the nomic policy. For this purpose, it offers a processing segment of agriculture, develop- number of suggestions, including changing ing effective mechanisms for the protection the tax structure so as to promote small and and compensation of farming entities from medium-sized businesses, substantially re- natural disasters through the introduction of ducing administrative burdens, establishing agricultural insurance schemes, promoting processing activities and creating new job the provision of loans with sufficient interest opportunities. To promote the development rates to farming households, providing agri- of different sectors of the economy and stim- cultural machinery to farmers, actively involv- ulate innovations, it suggests exempting im- ing farmers and peasants in the development ported goods from VAT. of state agriculture policy, accounting for their needs and expectations, and developing To ensure the proportional development of agro-tourism. It also proposes developing the rural areas, 10% of the profit tax paid by eco- military industry. nomic entities operating in the administrative territory of a community should be allocated The pre-electoral program emphasizing the to the community budget (with the aim of fur- need for the full utilisation of renewable en- ther increasing these), which in turn will di- ergy opportunities by developing hydropower, minish the concentration of business in the wind power and solar energy potential. capital. The alliance considers it necessary to set strict prices for goods essential to a ba- The WPA considers the EAEU to be the most sic livelihood. The WPA also aims to solve the ineffective structure for Armenia and the big- problem of excessive sales and the over-con- gest failure in Armenia’s foreign policy, since centration of sales networks, and to finish the membership in this union has done more to construction of interstate and intercommuni- damage than to benefit Armenia. For this ty roads within three years. reason, the alliance suggests reviewing relations with the EAEU and moving step-by-step The WPA suggests promoting IT develop- towards full EU membership. Moreover, con- ment by extending the sector’s tax benefits. cerning EU-Armenia relations, the party pro- It presents a policy of export promotion, tax poses signing the “European Aviation Area exemptions and product subsidisation, which Agreement” with the EU and joining the Euro- should also focus on the production and ex- pean Energy Community as a full member. port of pharmaceuticals, innovative and advanced technology products, military equip- The WPA also addresses the issue of Arme- ment, non-traditional energy and agricultural nia’s membership in the European Union sep- products, and on the creation of innovation arately, noting that European integration is a centres and laboratories in Armenia and Art- priority for Armenia’s foreign policy. Regard- sakh. ing relations with Iran, the alliance notes that for Armenia, Iran is not only a reliable neigh- The pre-electoral program also includes steps bour, friend and provider of communication such as creating legal and institutional prereq- with the world, but also a military, trade and uisites for the development of smaller-scale economic partner.

26 Ruben Sargsyan | Social and Economic Policies During Armenian Parliamentary Elections

One pre-electoral video statement by the WPA and regular trainings for the unemployed, ap- was analysed mainly concerns the alliance’s plying a demand-driven approach depending name “WE” and contains no references to the on labour markets. In areas where the unem- issues surveyed in this study. ployment rate is higher, the party suggests setting up financial support mechanisms At one of the WPA’s rallies11, the following for job-creating businesses. The party also issues were addressed: possibilities for in- addresses the employment problems of per- creasing employment, the introduction of sons with disabilities by proposing the estab- compulsory health insurance, pension in- lishment of a special government authority to creases, fighting monopolies, and mining deal particularly with this issue. opportunities (in particular the need to ex- ploit Amoulsar, which they consider to be The party proposes the implementation of a ecologically harmless). Similar issues were health insurance system and steps to reduce also discussed during another meeting12, in- the number of associated abuses and cor- cluding how to solve the employment prob- ruption risks. It also suggests a continuous lem, the introduction of compulsory health increase in salaries, the indexing of doctors insurance, and general issues related to the and healthcare workers, and the provision of economy, mining, and agriculture. Therefore, state funding for the treatment of deadly dis- during these meetings, the WPA represen- eases. tatives introduced the main cornerstones of their pre-electoral program. The party proposes allowing pension holders to reclaim money accumulated in their pension funds for the purposes of investment in “Orinats Yerkir” Party their education, acquiring a mortgage on a home, or if a family member becomes ill or The OYP’s pre-electoral program consists of dies. Moreover, the OYP suggests increas- 7.7 pages and 13863 characters, of which 1.3 ing pensions to the level of the minimum pages or 2336 characters are allocated to the consumer basket of goods. With regard to social sector and 2.5 pages or 4582 charac- self-employed persons in the agricultural sec- ters to the economic sector. tor, the party suggests considering their work professional experience, resulting in annual Based on the content of its pre-electoral pro- pension indexing and an increase in their pen- gram, the political ideology of the party is lib- sions. Also, the party considers important the eralism. indexing and increasing of the pensions of more than 200.000 persons with disabilities. The OYP’s pre-election slogan is “Legitimacy, Justice and Security.” In addition, the OYP suggests raising and indexing the minimum wage each year. Social Sector Referring to the issue of housing security, Except for labour legislation, which it does the OYP suggests withdrawing advance pay- not mention, the OYP’s pre-electoral program ments for mortgages, ensuring at least 20-30- addresses all of the issues relevant to this year lending mechanisms for young families, study, dedicating 399 characters to employ- with low interest rates and state subsidies. It ment, 462 to the health system, 665 to pen- also suggests addressing this issue through sion schemes, and 810 to housing security. community and social housing construction and through targeted programs for socially- The OYP proposes the implementation of a vulnerable groups. systemic policy for unemployment reduction

11. December 4th , 2018, Yerevan city: https://www.facebook.com/MenqDashinq/videos/267079783970526/ 12. December 6th, 2018, Artashat town in Ararat Province: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PjQlBjVnn4

27 Ruben Sargsyan | Social and Economic Policies During Armenian Parliamentary Elections

Economic Sector implementation of fixed payments for small and medium-sized businesses, and tax privi- The suggestions in the OYP’s pre-electoral leges for enterprises in cross-border regions program regarding the economic sector con- and disaster zones. sist of 4582 characters. With regard to casinos, betting, gambling The party proposes shifting from wild oligar- and games of chance, the OYP suggests chic capitalism to a people’s harmonious so- continuously reducing this sector by increas- cial economy. According to the program, it is ing state taxes, strengthening controls and necessary to strengthen the fight against cor- toughening legislation, especially for the ruption and theft from the treasury, to return involvement of adolescents. money withdrawn illegally from the country and to implement real mechanisms for the The OYP proposes tax privileges and tax fight against illegal enrichment. exemption for newly established enterprises in the regions affected by the 1988 earth- The party proposes to develop a new strate- quake and in cross-border areas. To create gy for the development of the banking sys- an attractive investment climate, the party tem, a sharp reduction in lending rates, and suggests implementing tax exemptions (up state-subsidised loans for the agricultural to three years) for newly created enterprises, sector. It also suggests eliminating so-called with the introduction of a civilised tax ex- blacklists of citizens and radically revising emption system. It also suggests providing bank penalties through cooperation between tax incentives to companies established by the state and the banks. persons with disabilities or employing persons with disabilities. In agriculture, the party proposes the implementation of an insurance system and the Regarding the mining sector, the party pro- provision of state support to rural enterprises poses the strengthening of state control over by implementing a family business develop- the use of minerals and natural resources. ment system approach. The party proposes the development and The party also suggests creating, modernis- implementation of a policy of transform- ing or restarting 20 large industrial enterpris- ing the country into a global manufacturer es, consistently developing communication of alternative energy sources through the technologies, developing the military industry implementation of modern technologies for and defining civilised tax and customs -privi the use of waste, wind, sun, kinetic and other leges in these areas. alternative sources of energy, as well as through scientific research. With regard to small and medium-sized businesses, the OYP suggests promoting consis- With regard to the EAEU, the OYP proposes tent development through low-interest loans the implementation of strategic programs for production and the agricultural sector. in the region and the further development of existing relations. It also suggests consis- The OYP proposes the continuous simplifi- tently strengthening Armenia’s position in cation of tax and customs-related adminis- the EAEU and launching Armenian-Russian trative processes, the full implementation of joint military and dual-use industrial enter- an electronic system, the elimination of price prises in Armenian territory. On the subject controls, sharp and consistent reductions in of EU-Armenia relations, the party states various types of monitoring and inspections, that it is necessary to ensure progress in the consistent support for entrepreneurship, the partnership between the EU and Armenia.

28 Ruben Sargsyan | Social and Economic Policies During Armenian Parliamentary Elections

The party suggests developing an Iran-Arme- labour legislation, 153 to the health system, nia-Georgia-Russia energy system, as well as 95 to pension schemes, and 92 to housing comprehensive relations with Iran and con- security. tinuous cooperation within the framework of regional development. The party proposes reviving professional labour unions. The party proposes that the state should take active steps to attract financial resources The party suggests eliminating the public from international financial institutions in or- healthcare system and introducing a single der to build an Iran-Armenia-Georgia oil pipe- joint electronic payment system combined line, an Iran-Armenia-Georgia gas pipeline, an with other social assistance methods. Armenia-Iran water pipeline, an Iran-Armenia railroad, and a modern petrochemical plant in It proposes a gradual harmonisation of the Armenia. minimum wage and pension with the price of the minimum consumer basket of goods. Observation of four pre-electoral video state- Further, it notes that social aid and allowance ments by the OYP shows that the party ad- payment systems should be eliminated, and dresses housing security issues in two of a single electronic payment system should these video clips, and the issues of free child- be introduced instead. birth and free medical care for children in another. With regard to the issue of housing security, the party proposes the implementation of a While conducting this study, it was possible social housing project with the free right of to observe one pre-electoral rally13 of the use of apartments. OYP, during which the party’s representatives spoke about their program’s provisions and Economic Sector promised to return bank deposits to family members, spouses and heirs. The suggestions in the STPAP’s pre-electoral program regarding the economic sector consist of 3953 characters. The party pro- Sasna Tsrer Pan-Armenian Party poses promoting the development of knowl- edge-based industry by initiating strategic The pre-electoral program of the STPAP con- programs and practical measures to com- sists of 5.8 pages or 10440 characters, of plete economic value chains through the de- which 0.2 pages or 399 characters are allo- velopment of the defence industry and min- cated to the social sector and 2.2 pages or ing production. 3953 characters to the economic sector. The STPAP suggests taking the first steps Based on the content of the STPAP’s pre-elec- towards involvement in the developments of toral program, the political ideology of the the 4th Industrial Revolution, including: cre- party is social-national revolution. The ST- ation of electronic commerce (e-commerce) PAP’s pre-electoral slogan is “It’s Time”. platforms with the support of the state and the involvement of diaspora Armenians; cre- Social Sector ation of crypto-economy (blockchain economy) platforms with the support of the state; Except for employment, which it does not establishment of platforms for biotechnology, mention, the pre-electoral program of the ST- media-technologies, robotics and artificial in- PAP addresses all of the issues considered telligence technology; expansion of existing in this study, dedicating 59 characters to capacities and the development of Armenia

13. Yerevan city, December 3rd, 2018.

29 Ruben Sargsyan | Social and Economic Policies During Armenian Parliamentary Elections

into a regional technology transfer centre; tak- Armenia, including in Artsakh, through targeting steps to align the education system with ed investment programs. the standards of the 4th Industrial Revolution; and harmonising legislation with the require- The party also proposes programs for the re- ments of the 4th Industrial Revolution. In this settlement of liberated and border territories, context, the party proposes the establish- the promotion of economic, educational and ment of a National Investment Fund (NIF). It cultural institutions, new forms of organisa- also suggests inviting owners of well-known tion of life, the testing and implementation of Armenian trademarks from all over the world new models, and other related issues. to organise their business with privileged tax terms under their trademarks in Armenia. In order to promote investment and strategic programs, the party proposes the implemen- The party proposes the extension of tation of a stimulating taxation policy. state-sponsored innovation development grant programs and the establishment of a The party also proposes tax privileges in the IT Pan-Armenian Investment Development Bank field. And for small and medium-sized- busi (PAIDB). It also suggests adopting a new law nesses, it suggests considering a two-year on procurement by completely changing the tax exemption system. criteria for winning public procurement processes and starting the process of establish- With regard to non-performing loans, the ing national control over strategic infrastruc- party proposes beginning cooperation with ture and facilities. commercial banks and credit organisations for the remission of outstanding loans and In the field of energy, it proposes the develop- penalties. ment wind and solar power plants on a large scale. The party also proposes a reduction in tariffs for gas and electricity. The party proposes the establishment of a budget national airline with state involvement. In the STPAP’s pre-electoral program, there are no references to the EAEU or the EU. With It also suggests carrying out real-time moni- respect to Armenia-Iran relations, the party toring and mapping of mines. Further, it con- proposes the construction of a large-capacity siders necessary an analysis of the legitima- Iran-Armenia gas pipeline. cy of the licenses issued for the exploitation of existing mines in the Armenia. To present its pre-electoral program, the ST- PAP produced 7 video statements. In addition, For the development of the agricultural sec- the party also had 7 video clips presenting the tor, the party proposes: establishing a mech- biographies of party leaders to voters. anism for delivering and processing agricultural products with state support; optimising The observations of two pre-electoral STPAP the use of agricultural land; implementing a rallies, which took place in Yerevan14 and in the unified anti-hail protection electronic - man town of Eghvard15 in Kotayk Province, show agement system; introducing an optimised that during these meetings, the speakers pre- water utilisation program; and supporting and sented their program and addressed the is- subsidising farming households. sues raised. One of the questions was about the future of Armenia, which was answered For the development of the tourism sector, in accordance with the STPAP’s pre-elector- the party proposes the establishment of ad- al program. Another question concerned the venture, hiking and cultural tourism centres in resolution of the conflict in Karabakh.

14. Malatia-Sebastia District, December 2nd, 2018. 15. December 1st, 2018.

30 Ruben Sargsyan | Social and Economic Policies During Armenian Parliamentary Elections

Prosperous Armenia Party sions so as to keep them in line with inflation.

The PAP’s pre-electoral program consists of The PAP proposes that mothers of several 6.7 pages or 12021 characters, of which 1 children and large families who are benefi- page or 1807 characters are allocated to the ciaries of state programs be included in the social sector and 4 pages or 7217 characters framework of special state care. Accordingly, to the economic sector. it considers necessary increasing allowances for the birth of the first and second children, Based on its pre-electoral program, the politi- and strongly increasing the amount provided cal ideology of the party is social democracy. for the birth of the third and subsequent children. The pre-election slogan of the PAP is “Our Word is Action.” With regard to the issue of housing security, the PAP asserts that no citizen living in the Social Sector regions affected by the 1988 earthquake should be living in a temporary shelter by the Except for labour legislation, which it does not end of the next two years. mention, the PAP’s pre-electoral program addresses all of the issues investigated in this The party also emphasizing that the state study, dedicating 294 characters to employ- should implement a social housing con- ment, 323 to the health system, 510 to pen- struction program. At the same time, the sion schemes, and 680 to housing security. beneficiaries of newly-built buildings should be provided renovated apartments with an In its pre-election program, the party notes approximate price of 180 thousand Drams that by implementing an economic revolution, per square metre, or 20-22 US Dollars per 60 it will contribute to attracting unprecedented square metres. It also suggests that benefi- large investments, which will in turn lead to ciaries should be able to make their monthly the creation of new jobs. The PAP proposes payments within 10 years without any prepay- job creation in the regions affected by the ment. 1988 earthquake over the next five years through the development of light manufactur- Economic Sector ing enterprises. The investments provided for the creation of these enterprises should be The PAP’s electoral program dedicates 7217 released from taxes. characters to the economy. The PAP states that small and medium-sized businesses The PAP emphasizing that all citizens should should not be regarded as objects of taxation, have access to quality healthcare services because they have a social orientation. For and considers it necessary to review the reg- this reason, the party suggests that within the ulations of state provision in this area, includ- next five years, the state should exempt from ing providing medical certificates to socially taxation businesses with a turnover of up to vulnerable groups, military servicemen and 30 million AMD. The party proposes limiting other beneficiaries as defined by law. The par- the threshold for taxable turnover to 58.35 ty proposes the full certification of the state million AMD by 2019, as is envisioned by the healthcare system. present tax code, and increasing it to 150 million AMD starting from the January 1st 2020. The party proposes changing the amount awarded for labour pensions so as to guar- The party also notes that within the next three antee minimum living conditions. It also sug- years, the turnover tax system should be sub- gests periodically indexing salaries and pen- ject to a system of complete documentation.

31 Ruben Sargsyan | Social and Economic Policies During Armenian Parliamentary Elections

The party purposes that equal competitive under special tax procedures. conditions and fair rules for business must be provided. The elimination of illegal monop- The PAP discusses enterprises that have been olies on imports must be followed by the lib- privatised under the terms of their investment eralisation of trade networks, ensuring equal obligations, but have not yet been executed, opportunities and fair conditions for the sale and whose owners have not fulfilled the - ob of imported goods. ligations laid down in the contract with the state. The party states that these enterprises The PAP proposes thoroughly revising legisla- should be returned to the state in accordance tion on the protection of economic competi- with the law and released to new investors. tion by introducing a new anti-monopoly law. The party notes that based on long-term ex- The party proposes the development of an in- perience and proven results, it is necessary to vestment security system and the implemen- outline new directions for the development of tation of a new policy aimed at promoting the economic, industrial, agro-industrial, ur- and attracting investments. As a result, the ban and service sectors, by prioritising highly state authorities will be responsible for each productive and digital technologies, electron- unit of investment, regardless of its size. The ic management, intensive gardens, drip irriga- PAP considers necessary the creation of eco- tion systems, modern machinery and tractor nomic courts to effectively guarantee invest- stations, new agricultural cooperatives and ments. high quality digital services.

With regard to tax legislation, the party states The PAP suggests that the state should pro- that it is necessary to swiftly adopt a new tax vide comprehensive assistance to individu- code that defines clear, understandable rules als and companies involved in agricultural over a long period of time. The party plans to production by promoting the marketing of reduce the number of existing taxes, imple- agricultural products, exploring new markets, ment more substantial administrative proce- decreasing seasonal pressure on existing dures for taxation, implement tariffs for cus- transport routes and providing credit resourc- toms clearance, and settle tariffs for citizens es (3-4%). importing goods for consumption on a large scale. Continuing its suggestions for taxation, The party proposes reforming the credit re- the party proposes decreasing the operating lations system, as well as postponing, sus- income tax, based on a progressive taxation pending and in some cases revoking interest scale. rates and penalties.

The PAP believes that investments for pur- The PAP suggests that in the field of procure- chasing technologically advanced equipment ment from the state budget, priority should be should generally be exempt from taxes. given to local producers. The party considers it necessary for large-scale credit resources The party also considers it necessary to im- with 0.5-1% interest rates to flow into the real plement an economic and technological rev- sector of the economy by 2-3%. The Central olution, which is feasible if the government Bank of Armenia (CBA) should implement a establishes stable and guaranteed long-term consistent monetary policy by constantly de- rules. fining an effective refinancing rate and taking into account anticipated risks. The party proposes developing industrial and technological “smart” cities within the frame- The PAP suggests that the state implement a work of the RA’s Law on Industrial Policy and clear policy to support the export of fruit,

32 Ruben Sargsyan | Social and Economic Policies During Armenian Parliamentary Elections

vegetables and meat products from Armenia, Tsarukyan. In the first part of his speech, he including to the Arab countries. To accom- glorifies the ideology of paternalism. In the plish this, the party considers it necessary second part, he presents the party’s main to establish operating logistics systems and program ideas: modernisation of the country refrigerating and packaging systems at Zvart- and a dignified life for citizens. The remaining nots Airport, which will enable the export of three video statements present the party’s agricultural products by cargo planes. main policies on social and economic issues.

The party proposes setting the irrigation water One of the PAP’s pre-electoral rallies was held fee of each hectare of land per year at 1,000 in Yerevan16, during which issues relating to AMD for the next five years, starting from housing security, high interest rates offered March 1st 2019. by banks, the tax system, the role of science in economic development and the transport The party also proposes a substantial reduc- system were addressed. tion in existing gas and electricity tariffs. Another pre-electoral meeting was held in the The PAP suggests implementing a compre- town of Abovyan17 in Kotayk Province, involv- hensive tourism development program in ing the discussion of issues related to the Armenia by creating favourable conditions development of agriculture, small and medi- for the development of hotels and other infra- um-sized businesses, tax reforms, healthcare, structure services. increases to pensions, housing schemes, credit, and science as a basis for economic The party also proposes the development of development. Thus, the rallies and assem- a military-industrial system, allocating 5% of blies presented the party’s pre-election pro- the annual state budget to this sector. gram.

The party believes that the diversification of financial intermediaries in Armenia is - anef fective measure, especially the involvement of new and large-scale financing from EAEU countries as well as legitimate and mutually beneficial schemes from foreign financial markets.

The PAP is in favour of developing and deep- ening Armenian-Russian strategic relations. The party states that it will continue to take an active role in the work of the Common- wealth of Independent States (CIS), the EAEU and the Collective Security Treaty Organisa- tion (CSTO), adding that at the same time, it will continue constructive participation in the European integration process.

There is no reference in the PAP’s pre-election program to Iran-Armenia relations.

The party made four pre-electoral video statements, one featuring the PAP’s leader G.

16. December 6th, 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVH6mnT4tj8 17. November 27th, 2018 - Abovyan town in Kotayk Province: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO73jrSnhkI

33 Ruben Sargsyan | Social and Economic Policies During Armenian Parliamentary Elections

Annex 1. Political orientations of parties and alliances participating in the parliamentary elections to the NA of the RA on December 9th, 2018

This section aims to assess the positions of Economic issues political parties and alliances participating in the snap parliamentary elections to the NA of n Industry and mining sector the RA on December 9th, 2018, based on the approaches presented in their pre-electoral n Taxation programs regarding social and economic issues and the role of the state in implementing n Banking sector these programs. n Agriculture, self-employment, small and The information gathered and reviewed here medium-sized entrepreneurship does not give a clear idea of the ideological-political orientation of each party or al- n Energy infrastructure and other sectors of liance. This is also clear from the eclectic the economy culture of Armenian politics. Nevertheless, it is clear that the policies of political organisa- Again, in order to take into account the eclec- tions are responsive to social and economic tic nature of the parties and alliances and issues, as well as to cultural, administrative, their rejection of rigid political ideologies, this religious and other issues. study applies an assessment criterion that quantifies orientation towards state interven- At the same time, assessment of the pre-election and regulation, which is the central issue toral programmes was hampered by the use for the majority of ideologies and political of varying vocabularies (word combinations, models. terminologies, non-professional and/or aca- demic use of phrases) and the populist style The importance of this issue is clear from the of speeches. In response to this difficulty, a trends in mainstream politics over the last two-point system was used to evaluate each few decades: There have been important de- issue: (1) the issue is addressed; (2) the is- bates on the application of a strict economic sue is addressed and a proposal is developed. policy, provision of a basic income, the rela- The disadvantage of such a system is that it tive merits of free market policies versus the masks the differences between programs, protectionism practised by economic giants, which could be important for political debate. and so on.

Categorisation of issues

Social issues

n Employment and unemployment

n Labour law/legislation

n Pension scheme/system

n Health system

n Housing security

34 Ruben Sargsyan | Social and Economic Policies During Armenian Parliamentary Elections

The structure of this assessment system for each issue is presented in Figure 2.

The sum of the scores given for responses politics, there is a concept of a large, strong to 5 questions per unit were plotted, with the state is opposed to the global trend of dereg- score for social issues on the X axis (-10; 10) ulation in similar countries. In a sense, this and for economic issues on the Y axis (-10; tendency could be termed quasi social-dem- 10). The effect of this summary is to weight ocratic, but it would be more accurate to say each issue as equally important, neglecting that a thoughtful social-democratic policy any special profile of importance for the giv- may have great potential in Armenian politics. en society and context. It is worth mentioning also that the policies of Figure 3 shows that some political parties the RPA and CDRP are conservative in the cul- and alliances are close to zero on both axes, tural realm, but liberal on social and econom- indicating an aim for compromise and combi- ic issues. This phenomenon is interesting, but nation between different approaches without requires a deeper analysis that takes into ac- a specific political ideology. count the cultural policies of these parties.

Based on their pre-electoral programs, five It is also interesting to see that the policies of of the observed parties and alliances18 con- the ruling party20 are populistic on the social sider state intervention in social issues to be level, but more responsive to global trends on important. Four of them19 also emphasizing the economic level. the need for state intervention in economic issues. This tendency shows that in Armenian

18. CDSDP, ARF, PAP, OYP, MSA 19. CDSDP, ARF, PAP, OYP 20. My Step Alliance

35 36 About the Author Imprint

A political analyst, sociologist, and human rights defender, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung/Armenia Office Ruben Sargsyan has more than 15 years of experience in Moskovyan str. 31, 76/1 / 0002 Yerevan analyzing political processes and supporting the development of the trade union movement in Armenia. He is the Chairman Responsible: of the Advanced Public Research Group (APR Group). Felix Hett Regional Director Tel.: +374 10 53 69 13 http://www.fes-caucasus.org/

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