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Armenian National Congress Հայ Ազգային Կոնգրես | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Levon Ter-Petrosyan |
| Founded | 1 August 2008 (2008-08-01)(as a coalition) March–April 2013(as a party) |
| Preceded by | Pan-Armenian National Movement |
| Headquarters | Yerevan |
| Youth wing | ANC Youth |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre |
| European affiliation | ALDE Party[3] |
| Slogan | "The Time to Get Serious" |
| National Assembly | 0 / 107 |
| Website | |
| anc.am | |
TheArmenian National Congress (Armenian:Հայ Ազգային Կոնգրես,romanized: Hay Azgayin Kongres) is anArmenianpolitical party led by formerpresidentLevon Ter-Petrosyan and was formed in 2008. Its direct predecessor was thePan-Armenian National Movement. It is often abbreviated asՀԱԿ orHAK, in keeping with its Armenian spelling, but it is occasionally referred to as theANC inEnglish, including on its official website.
From 2008 to 2013, it was a coalition of 13 opposition parties. In 2013, when certain member parties left the Pan-Armenian National Movement, the remainder of the organization collectively decided to form a new political party called the Armenian National Congress.[4][5] The ANC currently does not maintain any representation within theNational Assembly and acts as anextra-parliamentary force.
The party maintains a youth wing known as ANC Youth, which is a full member of theEuropean Liberal Youth organization. The youth wing is governed by the ANC Youth Congress, which itself is a member of theInternational Federation of Liberal Youth.[6]
The ANC believes in maintaining good relations with Armenia's neighbors, including normalizing relations with both Turkey and Azerbaijan, developing closer relations with theMiddle East, self-determination of theRepublic of Artsakh, encouraging furtherEuropean integration of Armenia and deepening cooperation with theEuropean Union, while also maintaining strong relations with theUnited States,Russia and withCIS member states.[2] The party supports the development of theeconomy of Armenia, and increasing trade with theEurasian Economic Union, European countries, the United States, India, and China. The party also supports developing the technology sector and improving infrastructure.[7]
TheImpeachment Union officially dissolved in 2008, as the party opted to join the ANC.
The ANC participated in the2009 Yerevan City Council election, winning 17.57% of the vote and gaining 13 seats in theYerevan City Council.
During the2011 Armenian protests, the ANC played a major role in organizing demonstrations and pushing for the government of PresidentSerzh Sargsyan, who defeated Ter-Petrosyan in the2008 election, to accept the demands of protesters.[8] The death of 10 people duringprotests that followed Sargsyan's disputed victory were a major rallying point for protesters.
Relations between the ANC andHeritage, a fellow opposition party, have historically been rocky, with differences in tactics during the 2011 protests widening the rift.[9]
Prior to the 2012 parliamentary elections, the ANC formed an electoral bloc with theDemocratic Homeland Party, theFreedom Party, among others. The bloc also had some members from theSocial Democratic Hunchakian Party, theConservative Party, thePeople's Party of Armenia, and theDemocratic Way Party participate under the ANC's electoral list.[10] The ANC bloc was also supported by theGreen Party of Armenia. Following the 2012 elections, the Armenian National Congress gained 7 seats in theNational Assembly of Armenia.[11]
The Democratic Homeland Party subsequently left the ANC. Also in 2012, theArmenian Liberal Party left the ANC after being a member of the party since 2008.
The party participated in the2013 Yerevan City Council election, winning 4.39% of the vote, but failing to gain any seats in the Yerevan City Council.
In 2013, theConservative Party, which had been an active member of the ANC, announced its decision to separate from the party.[12][13] Also in 2013, theArmenian National Movement Party, which was previously part of the ANC, re-registered itself on 14 May as a separate political party.[14]
In the 2015 constitutional referendum in Armenia, the ANC supported the "no" camp. ANC leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan, stated that "the constitutional changes initiated bySerzh Sargsyan was destroying the bases of the state".[15]
The ANC formed apolitical alliance with thePeople's Party of Armenia, however the alliance failed to win any seats following the election, gaining just 1.66% of the popular vote.
The ANC did not participate in the 2018 Armenian parliamentary elections. The ANC endorsed theMy Step Alliance.[16]
On 16 May 2021, the ANC announced that the party would participate in the 2021 elections with Levon Ter-Petrosyan leading the party's electoral list.[17] Prior to the election, Ter-Petrosyan was very critical of Prime MinisterNikol Pashinyan and had attempted to form a united team with former presidentsRobert Kocharyan andSerzh Sargsyan, however, his proposal was rejected.[16] As such, the ANC participated in the elections independently. Following the election, the ANC gained just 1.54% of the popular vote, failing to win any seats in the National Assembly.
In November 2021, the party participated in local elections in the city ofGoris, winning one seat in the Goris city council.[18]
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