ARMENIAN POLITICIAN TO RUN IN 2008 PRESIDENTIAL POLLS

Mediamax news agency
3 Sep 07

Yerevan, 3 September: The leader of the [opposition] New Times party,
Aram Karapetyan, announced his decision to run in the 2008 presidential
election today.

Addressing a news conference in Yerevan, Aram Karapetyan said that he
is planning to run for election independently because "presidential
election is a struggle of individuals".

Karapetyan expressed his opinion that the election will be held in
two rounds and that in the second round, it will be him and Armenian
Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan who will compete with each other, "of
course, if Serzh Sargsyan nominates his candidacy". The politician
expressed confidence in his victory because, he said, his party
"has tremendous human and financial resources to win this election".

The leader of the New Times party said that eight or 10 candidates
will run in the first round of the presidential election, and "Armenian
ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan has zero chances to win".

Aram Karapetyan also said that during the election campaign, he
intends to publish sensational facts, including about the terrorist
attack on the Armenian parliament on 27 October 1999 in which the prime
minister and speaker of the National Assembly were killed. Karapetyan
pointed out that he is ready to defend the authenticity of these
facts in court.