On November 9, 2011 during the conference of the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia PresidentSerzh Sargsyan said that, "Business must be consistently separated from the state system and the government."On March 22, 2012, the electoral list of Armenian Republican Party for the National Assembly elections wassubmitted to the Central Electoral Commission,which included the names and hierarchical positions of the following businessmen (oligarchs by public perception): Hovik Abrahamyan, 2,Vardan Ayvazyan, 27, Nahapet Gevorgyan, 32,Arakel Movsisyan, 34,Kovalenko Shahgaldyan, 69, Vardan Ghukasyan, 73,Ruben Hayrapetyan, 152,Samvel Alexanyan, 159 andAshot Aghababyan, 182.

Almost all of them (excluding two persons mentioned here) became deputies elected through the majoritarian system. And despite this reality, Sargsyan said ina meeting with representatives of the mass media that there were no oligarchs included on the Republican Party list.

"You cannot mention these types of people on the Republican list. There are no such people on the Republican Partylist, and that is our position. The party's position on the issue, in particular on parliament, is fully reflected on the proportional list. I have never said that none of the Republican businessman would come. A so-called 'businessman,' not one in reality but who is perceived as one--even though everything looks good on paper they are not businessmen, but in reality they are."

PerhapsSargsyan meant only members of parliamenton the proportional list, but the issue remains the same. They were on the party proportional list from the very beginning, as a backup in case they weren't elected through the majoritarian electoral system, which was nearly impossible.

No matter how strange it may seem, the recent presidential election showed why it was necessary to bring those people to parliament and make them part of the government. In all districts that fell into an oligarch's influence zone, during past parliamentary and presidential elections pro-government party representatives registered crushing victories.

During the last presidential elections, when the goal was to partially isolate oligarchs from the election, Sargsyan either won or lost with a minor advantage. Basically, it became obvious that bringing the oligarchy to the National Assembly through the majoritarian electoral system was necessary for the authorities so they would have personal interests to work for the government's party and ensure victory. In the last presidential elections there was no personal interest factor, which was clearly expressed by the official voting results.

Therefore, this presidential election should be considered not so much Sargsyan's, but the oligarchy's triumphal victory, as it showed how vulnerable and helpless the authorities are without that resource, and how thanks to the oligarchy they remain in power.

The statement about the absence of oligarchs on the Republican party's list was actually based on this awareness. The incumbent president not only clearly underlined the value of the oligarchy for the government but also sent an indirect message--that they are under the authorities' protection.The president gave them carte blanche to freely do whatever they want. Hadthe law beenofficially protected, no parliamentarianoligarch would have the need to give false statements about his business. Samvel Alexanyan would have no problem claiming that he is the poorest person in the Republic and his business is at his wife's mercy. They cannot only claim openly and confidently that they are businessmen, but also be proud with their oligarchic status. And we can already see the first signs of that. The day after the president's press conference National AssemblymemberNahapet Gevorgyan, who hasbeen given the green light by the authorities, announced before journalists that he was a businessman and strived to be an oligarch.

As an attempt to curb this contradiction, Sargsyan claims that in order to prevent conflicts of interest, they should not resist the oligarchs'entry into parliament, but struggle to prevent them from using that for their own interests.

"If we are able to rapidly improve the ability for monitoring fiscal bodies… to convince our people that the right of property is inviolable in Armenia, those people would leave parliament automatically, as there is no need for that,"the president said.

But in reality these fiscal monitoring mechanisms were created.In 2011, whenthe Law On Public Service was adopted, the concept of conflict of interest was finally introduced to the state governing system. The National Assembly ethics committee was established for deputies, but instead of strengthening it, everything has been done in order to formalize it. After the president's similar comments this committee can now be dissolved.

Not even a month passed since the committee chaired by Republican David Harutyunyan officially terminated Prosperous Armenia Party deputy Mikael Melkumyan's case regarding conflicts of interest. The case involved a recorded phone conversation during whichthe deputy clearly admits that he is personally involved in thereal estate sector, which is incompatible with a high-ranking official in accordance with the Constitution, the Law On Public Serviceand the regulation of the National Assembly.

The committee didn’t want to accept the recording as a factual, self-confession, although the deputy never claimed that it wasn’t his voice. The president's position on not wanting oligarchs and businessmen in parliament is an indirect order to continue with the status quo. And even if Gevorgyan writes a confession to the legislative and executive committees or even a judicial body, no structure would dare to recognize it as a violation of the law. They can do whatever they want.