Politicians, around the world, can be said to have one thing in common – the drive to win the favour of voters and get elected to positions of power.

Armenia is no exception to the rule. In fact, some Armenian MP’s go do far as to cry “poverty” in the run-up to elections, in an attempt to present themselves as representatives of the common man.

Even MP Samvel Aleksanyan, owner of the Yerevan City chain of supermarkets, sees nothing wrong with going after the “compassion” vote by lamenting the fact that he has to feed five hungry children at home.

Some MP’s whine about their salary levels and say it’s tough to get by on just 240,000 AMD per month. You’ll hear them say that they can’t even buy a decent suit for that amount!

Many Armenian politicos feign poverty just to get government handouts.

Armenia’s National Assembly offers housing allowances for MP’s while staying in Yerevan for parliamentary business. Those with no place to stay can get up to $120 per month so they can rent an apartment.

In 2011, those receiving such an allowance were MP’s Rafik Grigoryan, Soukias Avetisyan and Lernik Aleksanyan (Republican Party; Hovhannes Margaryan, Khachik Harutyunyan and Ishkhan Khachatryan (Rule of Law); and Artzvik Minasyan (ARF).

Now, $120 translates into about 46,000 AMD at current exchange rates. It’s hard to imagine what type of apartments these MP’s can rent in Yerevan with such a measly amount.

Let’s look at a few individual cases:

Lernik Aleksanyan – This Republican Party MP has been receiving the allowance for the past nine years. His 2010 income statement shows the guy really doesn’t need an additional 46,000 AMD.

He purchased a Hyundai Elantra auto in 2010 worth 5.5 million AMD on the open market. His declared revenues for the year totalled – 17,541,380 AMD. Did he really need that additional 46,000 AMD? Give me a break.

Aleksanyan told Hetq that that he never had that much in income. “I’m not rich but not that poor that I couldn’t do without the 46,000 AMD. It just happened that they offered it to me and I agreed. I travel to Yerevan ever day on business and either rent a place or stay with friends.”

The MP added that if he thought the 46,000 AMD would result in the parliament going broke, he’d stop accepting the allowance.

Soukias Avetisyan – This Republican Party MP was glad to note that he’s been receiving the allowance since 1995 given that it’s compensation for his hotel stays while in Yerevan.

When I asked if the 46,000 was enough to rent a place, Avetisyan responded, “Yeah, it’s possible. You can rent a modest apartment at that price.”

Avetisyan, who resides in Gyumri, declared 3,341,380 AMD in revenue for 2010.

Rafik Grigoryan – This Republican Party MP says he has no apartment in Yerevan. But it’s hard to believe he needs the 46,000. His son Karen is employed as an advisor to National Assembly Deputy President Edward Sharmazanov.

I couldn’t get in touch with Grigoryan, who hails from Dzoragyugh in Gegharkunik Marz, by phone. So I called up Dzoragyugh Mayor Levon Grigoryan, the MP’s younger brother.

Levon Grigoryan told me his older brother doesn’t live in the village and has an apartment in Yerevan where he lives with his family. Ooops....

On his 2010 income statement, MP Grigoryan declared 3,108,580 AMD in wages; nothing else.

Artzvik Minasyan, the only opposition MP getting the allowance, confessed that he had recently obtained an apartment in Yerevan and that he would soon file a request to the National Assembly to remove his name from the list of those receiving taxpayer monies.

Minasyan said he had no income other than his MP salary.