In an open letter to the press, former Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian, now running for a parliament seat on the Prosperous Armenian Party ticket, lists a number of problems that the ruling Republican Party have not effectively addressed while in power.

Oskanian says that in many directions, Armenia’s socio-economic situation has gotten worse and that the country’s GDP has shrunk since 2008 and that 500,000 more Armenians live below the poverty line.

He points out that the national debt has tripled and will reach $4 billion by the end of the year.

The former foreign minister says the government’s ability to forecast future trends has been sorely lacking and that there are governance issues as well at the core of Armenia’s stagnating economy.

He cites a lack of effective follow-up by the government in dealing with these issues.

Oskanian also charges the government with proclaiming national projects but never seriously implementing them, such as the Armenia-Iran railway, a new atomic power station, the North-South Highway, the Pan-Armenian Bank and others.

He also cites politics based on narrow partisan and personal interests as a hindrance to much needed economic second and third generation reforms.

Oskanian argues that these problems can be quickly tackled given a new government coming to power through free and fair elections that would incorporate capable professionals and individuals with creative ideas.