E. SHARMAZANOV: SERGE SARGSIAN IS COMPETITIVE CANDIDATE ESPECIALLY IN CASE OF COMPETING WITH LEVON TER-PETROSIAN
By Gohar Gevorgian

AZG Armenian Daily #162
07/09/2007

Presidential Elections

Serge Sargsian is competitive candidate especially in case of competing
with Levon Ter-Petrosian, Eduard Sharmazanov, spokesman of Republican
Party of Armenia said at the press conference. He added that the party
will nominate prime minister Serzh Sarkisian as a candidate for next
year’s presidential election.

Eduard Sharmazanov, the party’s spokesman, said to a news conference
that the party will field Sarkisian ‘because there is a great public
demand for it."He said the party has a clear-cut political platform,
a skilled team and Serzh Sarkisian as a seasoned leader, who enjoys
a high popularity. As evidence he emphasized that the party took a
sweeping victory in the May 12 parliamentary elections.

"If the Republican Party received only 10-15 percent of the vote (in
the parliamentary elections) it would never think about nominating
its presidential candidate,’ Sharmazanov said, adding that the final
decision belongs to the party’s congress, scheduled for late autumn.

In response to the question about the media speculations that
ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosian is contemplating a political comeback
and may join the presidential race, the Republican Parity’s spokesman
said it is meaningless to speak now about ‘the historical necessity
of Ter-Petrosian’s nomination,’ because ‘historical necessity emerges
when a country is experiencing a lingering crisis, which is not the
case with Armenia." "Armenia has penetrated into the second stage of
reforms and there is no public demand, neither historical necessity
for Ter-Petrosian’s return,’ he said.