Of course the presidential elections were rigged. Who is surprised? When was the last time we had a truly free and fair election in Armenia? Even the most advanced representative democracies in the world have flaws – technical or otherwise – in their electoral processes, but in our case, to be sure, it was rigged outright, plain and simple, in Serge’s favour.

Levon is in the picture, and his support base is apparently strong. What is the matter here? Sure, he was the leader, the forefront of independence from the Soviet Union, but surely everyone remembers his time in office, especially his very rigged re-election in 1996. Tanks came out on the streets then. This morning’s occurrence in Yerevan was խայտառակ all right, but there weren’t any tanks… Not that it matters. The question remains: don’t people remember what sort of president Levon was?

Okay, let’s say they don’t. That’s one option. Let’s say they do, and he knows they do, and, since September 21st last year, he’s convinced the populace that he’s reformed, changed for the better, and people are willing to believe him, and/or give him another chance. That’s the second option.

On the third hand, maybe people simply wish to use him as a tool to get rid of Serge and Robert, and maybe Levon would like to be that tool. But to what end? There is absolutely no guarantee of a better replacement. Quite the contrary, in fact.

Of course, no-one can determine what “the people” think or want; it’s probably a mixture of all that I listed above, both among different individuals, and probably within individuals as well.

Regardless of what happens, however, and as a friend of mine indicated to me, this is setting an example, a precedent. The people of Armenia don’t want to be messed with or fooled anymore. The next time somebody wants to try something like this, he will think twice, whether he is Levon or Serge.

But Serge will probably win, so that will sort of null that point. If he does become president, though, his legitimacy will be very low indeed, especially after what happened this morning, which was to be expected. His legitimacy will be even lower than the usual sceptical approach people have to those in power in Yerevan.

Miracles have been known to happen. How about a few at a time? Get rid of the corrupt regime, put in place a more sincere regime, lawfully and legitimately change that administration for a new one, just as sincere, in five years… Three miracles in one go? Why not, why not…?