While it was evident, that the ruling Republican party would get the biggest amount of donations, it is rather surprising to see, that “Zharangutyun” (Heritage) party, which is currently the smallest opposition party in the National Assembly, comes second by the amount of donations received, surpessing even “Bargavach Hayastan” (Prosperous Armenia) party lead by Armenia’s richest tycoon Gagik Tsarukian.
This is one of those cases when numbers talk.
| # | Political party or coalition | Donations in AMD |
| 1 | Prosperous Armenia | 54000000 |
| 2 | Heritage | 72797400 |
| 3 | Armenian National Congress | 4599000 |
| 4 | Democratic Party | 255000 |
| 5 | Communist Party | 1400000 |
| 6 | Republican Party | 77876780 |
| 7 | Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) | 23148000 |
| 8 | United Armenian | 490000 |
| 9 | Rule of Law | 22613400 |
Where are these numbers from?
The numbers were published by the Central Electoral Commission. Azatutyun.am reported it yesterday: http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/24554017.html
Maybe they are funding Jarangutyun to harm HAK. it’s a normal tactic in politics in the US (for example, Ron Paul who is a divisive force in the GOP raises a lot of money while remaining a fringe voice).
Who do you mean by “they” Independent Armenia?
I think there are enough funders in the Armenian Diaspora, as well as amongst the Liberal Democrats joining “Heritage” who could fund the campaign. Don’t you think so?
If the source was from abroad, Jarangutyun would not have 3 times as much as ARFD and almost as much as HHK. ARFD has a lot more fundraising capacity in diaspora than Jarangutyun.
Of course, without knowing the 50 biggest donors in each of these buckets, what the numbers tell us is that HHK, Jarangutyun and BHK may have similar donors.
The foreign powers love seeing this, especially the Turks, Azeris and Chevron and British Petroleum. This is how Armenia is kept weak and under control. The United States with 300 million people has two parties. Armenia with 3 million people has 20… think about that very carefully.
Waaay off base. The number of parties has nothing to do with the strength of a nation.
I disagree. The multitude of parties may not be directly related to strength of a nation, but it most certainly has something to do with it, and most definitely affects the future of a nation. The point of my post was that a little country like Armenia having all these ridiculous number of parties is a waste of time and a distraction… something that the outside world loves to see. Every Tom, Dick and Harry oligarch on every block making his own “party” – that is not politics, it is a circus. Armenia does not need all these parties causing division, it needs unity of the people and unity of ideas to focus and accomplish specific objectives.