Armenian MP Proposes 'Against All' Option on Ballot for Elections

Armenian MP Arthur Ghazinyan has stated on his Facebook page that, in his opinion, participation in elections in Armenia should become mandatory.

“The experience of the electoral processes over the 30 years of the Third Republic of Armenia shows that the majority of citizens do not participate in elections, allowing a minority to make fateful decisions on behalf of everyone. For instance, if all eligible citizens had participated in the 2021 elections, I am confident that we would not be in this tragic situation, and the approximately 680,000 voters would not impose their will on 2,000,000 people, thus throwing our country into this crisis.

Of course, it would be ideal if the majority realized this and participated in the elections to prevent important decisions from being made in their name. But we have what we have, and we need to take constitutional measures to solve this problem. This would eliminate the infiltration of phenomena similar to that of Nikol into Armenia's political system, and make citizens more accountable and responsible towards themselves and the state.

This implies that a 'Against All' option should be included on the ballot, allowing citizens of Armenia to express their attitude towards the political system, while enabling political forces to assess political vacuums and adapt their behavior to win the voices and trust of Armenian citizens. If citizens have political rights and freedoms in their relationship with the state, they should also have responsibilities,” Ghazinyan wrote.