Bright Armenia Լուսավոր Հայաստան | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Edmon Marukyan |
| Founded | December 12, 2015 (2015-12-12) |
| Headquarters | Yerevan |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre |
| National affiliation | Way Out Alliance (2016–2018) Bright Alliance (2018) |
| European affiliation | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe |
| Slogan | "There is an Alternative, Vote!" |
| National Assembly | 0 / 107 |
| Yerevan City Council | 0 / 65 |
| Website | |
| brightarmenia | |
Bright Armenia (Armenian:Լուսավոր Հայաստան,romanized: Lusavor Hayastan) is aclassical liberal[1][2]political party inArmenia founded on 12 December 2015.[3]
In 2017, Bright Armenia launched an educational program aimed at advancing and promoting liberal politics, known as theInstitute of Liberal Politics (ILP); it is an affiliated member of theEuropean Liberal Forum.[4]
In the2017 Armenian parliamentary election and the2017 Yerevan City Council election, the party took part in the elections as part of theWay Out Alliance, gaining few seats.
In the2018 Yerevan City Council election, the party ran as a part of theBright Alliance. The alliance won three seats in the Yerevan City Council, with two seats taken by Bright Armenia and one seat taken by theHanrapetutyun Party.
Following the2018 Armenian parliamentary election, Bright Armenia became the third largest party in theNational Assembly and one of the two official opposition parties, the other beingProsperous Armenia.
In May 2021, the party confirmed it would participate in the2021 Armenian parliamentary elections. Following the election, the party gained just 1.2% of the popular vote, losing all political representation in the National Assembly. The party currently acts as anextra-parliamentary force.
The party participated in the2023 Yerevan City Council election with Davit Khazhakyan as their candidate forMayor of Yerevan. Following the election, the party lost all representation in theYerevan City Council, winning just 1.8% of the vote.[5]
Bright Armenia is a liberal, pro-European political party.Edmon Marukyan called for raising relations with theEuropean Union to a strategic partnership level.[6] Party members also advocate for visa-free travel of Armenian citizens to the EU'sSchengen Area.[7] The party opposes Armenia's current membership in theEurasian Economic Union and believes that Armenia should withdraw its membership and begin to negotiate anAssociation Agreement andDeep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the European Union.[8] Bright Armenia supports Armenia's full membership in the EU and wishes to begin the first steps ofaccession negotiations without delay.[8]
The party manifesto states, "Armenia should show initiative inpan-European processes and structures, presenting itself as the true bearer of the values of European civilization anddemocracy."[9]
Despite the party's Pro-European orientation, Bright Armenia also believes in maintaining positive cooperation withRussia and ensuring that the interests of Armenia are not compromised in favor of other countries.[10]
The party council consists of the following members:[11]
Party leaderEdmon Marukyan, was elected as an independent MP following the2012 Armenian parliamentary election.[12]
| Election | Alliance | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | part ofWay Out Alliance | 122,049 | 7.78 | 9 / 105 |  | 3rd | Opposition (2017–2018) |
| Government (2018) | |||||||
| 2018 | none | 80,024 | 6.37 | 18 / 132 |  15 | 3rd | Opposition |
| 2021 | none | 15,591 | 1.22 | 0 / 107 |  18 | 9th | Extra-parliamentary |
| Election | Alliance | Mayor candidate | Votes | % | Seats inCity Council | +/– | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | part ofWay Out Alliance | 70,730 | 21 | 14 / 65 | | 2nd | |
| 2018 | part ofBright Alliance | Artak Zeynalyan | 18,114 | 4.99 | 3 / 65 | 11 | 3rd |
| 2023 | none | Davit Khazhakyan | 4,174 | 1.8 | 0 / 65 | 3 | 7th |
13 December 2018
Bright Armenia is an avowedly pro-EU and classical liberal political party...
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