Free Motherland ( hy, «Ազատ Հայրենիք» կուսակցություն, ''Azat Hayrenik kusaktsutyun'') abbreviated as ԱՀԿ or AHK is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

in Artsakh. The party was formed on 29 January 2005. Initially, the party consisted of four co-presidents:

Arayik Harutyunyan Arayik Vladimiri Harutyunyan ( hy, Արայիկ Վլադիմիրի Հարությունյան; born 14 December 1973) is an Armenian politician who has been serving as the President of Artsakh since 2020. He was formerly the 1st State Minister fr ...

Arthur Tovmasyan Arthur Tovmasyan ( hy, Արթուր Թովմասյան; born 2 December 1962) is the President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government t ...

, Rudik Hyusnunts and Arpat Avanesyan.

History

The party was founded on 29 January 2005. The chairman of the party is former Prime Minister Araik Harutyunyan. The party participated in the

2005 Nagorno-Karabakh parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on 19 June 2005. The election saw the two pro-government parties, the Democratic Party of Artsakh and Free Motherland, win a large majority of seats. The opposition criticised the ...

, after which the party received 10 out of 33 seats in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

. Following the

2010 Nagorno-Karabakh parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on 23 May 2010. Background Nagorno-Karabakh declared its independence from Azerbaijan in 1991. The First Nagorno-Karabakh War took place between 1988 and 1994 which resulted in ...

, the party won 14 seats in the National Assembly, both in direct and proportional electoral systems. The head of the faction was Gagik Petrosyan. Following the

2015 Nagorno-Karabakh parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on 3 May 2015.2020 Artsakhian general election General elections were held in the Republic of Artsakh on 31 March 2020, with a second round of the presidential election on 14 April. Voters elected the President and 33 members of the National Assembly. It was the first time the President and ...

as part of the

Free Motherland - UCA Alliance The Free Motherland - UCA Alliance ( hy, «Ազատ Հայրենիք - ՔՄԴ» դաշինք; ''Azat Hayrenik - KMD Dashink)'' is a political alliance formed by the Free Motherland and United Civic Alliance parties. The alliance was formed in Jan ...

, which won 16 seats out of 33 in the National Assembly.

Electoral record

Program

The program of the party is a document expressing the national interests of the Artsakh people, their freedom, security and the right to

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a '' jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It sta ...

. The party is a political association of the NKR on a voluntary basis. Objectives include: a) together with like-minded people to improve social justice, b) to revive the people's faith in their own strengths and a brighter future, c) create conditions for the formation of the middle class, d) promote the spiritual revival of the people and increase the role of the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

Ideology

The party maintains a

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

ideology. The party advocates for a national and religious identity, economic development, preservation of language, educational system reform, and supports cultural patriotism and military spirit. The main difference from other Armenian and Artsakh parties is the support of economic development over democratic transformations. The party believes that economic development will help to achieve Artsakh's independence, while strengthening the establishment of civil society and

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...

Central Council

Important decisions of the party are made up by a Central Council consisting of 55 persons, by either open or closed voting: * Harutyunyan Araik * Petrosyan Gagik * Tovmasyan Arthur * Avanesyan Arpat * Hyusnunts Rudik * Jivanyan Hovik * Dadayan Romela * Kasparyan Grigory * Harutyunyan Valery * Petrosyan Karlen * Esayan Samvel * Adamyan Karen * Azatyan Kamo * Alibabyan Gennady * Alaverdyan Hamlet * Aghajanyan Anaida * Aghajanyan Samvel * Virabyan Samvel * Arustamyan Arto * Arushanyan Vigen * Asryan Murad * Asryan Asya * Avanesyan Ivan * Beglaryan David * Beglaryan Erik * Gasparyan Grigory * Grigoryan Aram * Grigoryan Garry * Grigoryan Oleg * Dadasyan Arthur * Israelyan Rudolf * Israelyan Ruslan * Galstyan Armo * Khachatryan Qajik * Tsaturyan Armen * Hayrapetyan Aleksey * Nasibyan Hrachik * Harutyunyan Stanislav * Mirzoyan Artak * Mikaelyan Vladimir * Mikaelyan Arsen * Mkhitaryan Artush * Mnatsakanyan Serob * Narimanyan Kamo * Poghosyan Vahram * Hayrapetyan Susanna * Saryan Sumbat * Virabyan Michael * Ulubabyan Vardges * Qocharyan Kamo * Ohanyan Armen * Petrosyan Arthur * Hakobyan Anna * Ohanjanyan Ararat

References

External links

Free Motherland Party
on Facebook {{Nagorno Karabakh political parties Political parties in the Republic of Artsakh Political parties established in 2005