From 11 to 20 June, 2019, the “Media Advocate” initiative followed online media reports on the President of the National Assembly Ararat Mirzoyan’s personality and activities. 35 leading Armenian news agencies have been monitored.
In the specified period, 601 articles were declared, 124 of which were negative, 3 were positive and 474 were neutral.
There are few positive articles on the NA Speaker during this ten-day period. Ararat Mirzoyan’s activities are regularly criticized, and this time criticism have been found in Artashes Geghamyan’s article published on regnum.ru. Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) MP Sergey Bagratyan has filed a complaint in his turn. According to Bagratyan, Ararat Mirzoyan has made several amendments to his bill and presented it as his own.
According to the news outlets, Ararat Mirzoyan’s position is weakening: his rating has not been so high after the recent elections in the CC. It is mentioned that only Mkhitar Hayrapetyan supported Ararat Mirzoyan during the discussion on the Chairman of the Board of the Civil Contract Party.
During our monitoring period, “Media Advocate” initiative periodically comes across articles where the authorities are accused of sponsorship. After Artak Zeynalyan’s resignation, several names were discussed as contenders for the post. According to news agencies, Ararat Mirzoyan wanted his cousin, Vladimir Vardanyan, in the position of a chairman of the NA Committee on State and Legal Affairs. The media outlets insist that Ararat Mirzoyan’s opinion has not been considered important as Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan also impeded.
The NA Speaker’s speech delivered at the CC congress has also been criticized. The news outlets note that Ararat Mirzoyan bacame NA Speaker due to a stroke of luck.
The media also note that they should start the process of vetting from themselves. Ararat Mirzoyan’s assets have grown by 3,000% in a year, the press says.
We highlighted the most emphasized criticisms related to NA speaker. Ararat Mirzoyan’s team should consider that negative articles have been found not only in news outlets associated with opposition politicians, but also those close to the government.
