A year before the Parliamentary elections, leader of the People’s Party Tigran Karapetyan, who lost the license for his ALM television station, has taken the drastic measure of giving out his mobile phone number as a means for potential electorate to hear his message.

At the fourth rally held in Yerevan on January 19, which was significant in that it drew around 6,000 – about the same amount who rally for the leading Armenian National Congress at its periodic public gatherings -- people were given leaflets, with Karapetyan’s phone numbers (+37410 24 93 99, +37491 42 40 20).

“By closing my TV channel the authorities thought that I would lose the opportunity of letting everybody know about my rallies. Therefore, I have decided to give everybody my phone numbers, and people gave their phone numbers to me, so that we can communicate,” Karapetyan told ArmeniaNow, adding most people who support him are not well-off, and do not have computers or Internet access.

According to different media reports Karapetyan has received about 11,000 phone calls since giving out the number. He says, though, that the figure is much higher.

“Hundreds of people call [me] every day, they mainly speak about the instable situation of the country,” Karapetyan says.

Political scientist Yervand Bozoyan doubts whether the novelty will increase the number of Karapetyan’s followers, nor does he credit the relatively large crowd with signaling that Karapetyan’s marginal party has become a force.

“No matter who is standing there [at Matenadaran – site of the rallies] – Karapetyan or another oppositional force – people will gather there, because they are in a poor social condition; and the social-economic policy, held by the government worsens their state day by day,” Bozoyan told ArmeniaNow.

Political scientist Armen Badalyan says, however, that there is a segment of society looking for a new face in leadership and for many of them, the beleaguered former TV talk show host has become that person.

“However, it is, in fact, impossible to gather a huge electorate by means of using such technologies - Karapetyan needs to work correctly,” Badalyan says.

He is sure that with the current policy Karapetyan plays into the authorities’ hands, because he may weaken the wave of protest before the elections by means of gathering the discontented electorate at rallies.

“And for some reason everybody forgets that in 2007-2008, along with all other TV channels, he supported the existing authorities and used a smear campaign against opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan,” Badalyan says.