ARF MP Armen Roustamyan said today that elections in Armenia had become a business and that most voters regarded the elections as a way to make money rather than an opportunity to choose a new government. Mr. Roustamyan stated that rather than spending huge amounts on election bribes an auction should be declared with some of the funds used to buy property and the rest going to solve the social problems faced by the electorate. Mr. Roustamyan said he thought it would be correct to enact a policy of finger stamping at the polls. He argued that such a policy would greatly reduce the possibility of voter fraud. Mr. Roustamyan was at today's press conference with Artzvik Minasyan, who heads he ARF's election ticket for the Yerevan Municipal Council. The two claimed that the ARF will have 3 representatives at all 439 polling booths in Yerevan. If there is substantive evidence of voter fraud the party would take the issue up in the courts. When asked if the ARF, as a previous member of the ruling coalition, assumed responsibility for violations registered in last year's presidential elections, Mr. Roustamyan responded, "We had a 1/8 amount of responsibility. It's not easy to struggle when the odds are one against eight." Mr. Minasyan said that the formulation of a national municipality is the first priority of Yerevan and Armenia in general since the municipality must be able to counter and quell the policies of the central government. He said that laws were being debated ion the government that directly impact on Yerevan citizens and that there is a dearth of opposition voices. For this reason, the ARF believes that it it is important that the mayor of Yerevan represent an opposition force since, "if the mayor is a representative of the same forces then there will not be any change here."