"CAN YOU WIN?"

Haykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan, in Armenian
23 Sep 06

Armenian Paper Reports Rift Within Ruling Coalition Over Succession

Reliable sources have said that Armenian President Robert Kocharyan
has advised senior officials to compete ahead of the 2008 presidential
election. Kocharyan’s idea is that all officials who aspire to become
Armenia’s next president should launch an election campaign in order
to become the candidate of the authorities by early 2008 and in order
to have the most chances to win the election. Many officials were
inspired on hearing this, but some were angry.

Kocharyan is not going to make [Defence Minister] Serzh Sarkisyan
his direct successor. He suggests that Sarkisyan compete with other
presidential contenders on equal terms. This means that after all
Kocharyan may opt for another candidate. But the most important
result is that the Republican Party of Armenia [RPA] is angry with
Kocharyan’s ideas on a transitional candidate. According to the RPA,
Robert Kocharyan would not be nominated as a presidential candidate
in 1998 and 2003 if they were to apply the same logic back then. But
talks held behind closed doors have failed to change the formula
suggested by Kocharyan.