Reshufflings won't be enough, fair elections are necessary, says oppositionist

It is necessary to stage free and fair elections in Armenia as reshufflings in government will not significantly improve the situation in the country, an opposition party leader has said.

At a press conference today, Stepan Demirchyan, the leader of People's Party of Armenia, affiliated with the opposition alliance Armenian National Congress, said that the opposition has on several occasions made this clear for the authorities.

"For several times we have mentioned that first of all free and fair elections should be held. A couple of replacements will not bring about significant changes, and it is this requirement that the opposition always has put forward," said Demirchyan.

Speaking about the achievements in 2010, Demirchyan said that a lot of issues still need to be addressed, such as exodus, poverty and political prisoners.

"The 2010 cannot be considered a year of achievements," Demirchyan said. "If we sum up the year, the country is hit by a socio-economic and moral crisis."

Armenia, according to him, did not have achievements in the peace talks over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict either as the talks were not beneficial for Armenia.

The first thing to do, in his opinion, is to include Karabakh in the peace talks spearheaded by the OSCE Minsk Group, Demirchyan added.