In a public letter to Serzh Sargsyan, Heritage Party President Raffi Hovannisian has called on the president of Armenia and all government officials to resign from the boards of educational institutions in the name of free and fair elections.

“To realize the directives you have set forth in order to conduct free and fair elections we view the following measures as vital,” reads the opening line in Hovannisyan’s communiqué to the president.

The Heritage Party leader then lists a number of other measures necessary for conducting open and fair elections in the country, including the following:

• The depoliticization of student councils in colleges and universities and guaranteeing students accessibility to all political forces.
• The removal of all offices of the ruling Republican Party from urban and rural municipality buildings, cultural centers and other public spaces, or else, guaranteeing the same conditions for other political parties.
• The removal of insignias, emblems and signs of the Republican and other parties from municipal buildings, schools, universities and other public venues.
• The depoliticization of the education system.
• Banning any activity of the Republican Party within the walls of the Presidential Palace.
•  Banning the public money expenditures for direct or indirect political party usage.
• Prohibiting the use of the church for political ends.
• Ensuring a level playing field for competition, including the financial realm, banning any discriminatory abuse of “administrative resources”.