RAFFI HOVANNISIAN IS FOR CREATING A BIG OPPOSITION UNION AND IS GOING
TO NOMINATE HIS CANDIDATURE BY MAJORITARIAN SYSTEM

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. Zharangutiun (Heritage) Party
leader Raffi Hovannisian is going to nominate his candidature at the
forthcoming May 12 elections by majoritarian system. He declared this
at the February 23 press conference. As regards the format of
Zharangutiun Party’s running for the elections, this issue is being
discussed at present and will be cleared up in the coming days.

R. Hovannisian said that he is for creating a big opposition union and
expressed the hope that this union will be established. In his words,
under the conditions of running for the elections independently and
undermining the opposition field it will be more difficult for
citizens to overcome indifference and distrust, to give importance to
their own votes and and to the dictate of struggling for it. "I will
respect the decision of my partners to run for the elections
independently, but this is a great strategic, ideological and civil
mistake," R. Hovannisian said. As the Zharangutiun leader affirmed, if
equal conditions are provided for everybody in the elections, the
opposition will unanimously win. In his words, the rumors coming from
power camp that there is no alternative to the current administration,
are not only false, but scornful for Armenia. In R. Hovannisian’s
words, no format of opposition forces’ running for the elections has
been specified yet. "I cannot speak on behalf of the persons who have
decided to run for the elections independently and I consider
cooperation with all other forces in different ways as possible,"
Zharangutiun’s leader said. In his words, Zharangutiun’s running for
the elections independently is not excluded, but this is considered as
a spare variant.