TIGRAN KARAPETIAN TO RUN FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS, THOUGH HE IS CONVINCED THAT HE WILL BE DEFEATED
Author: Karapetian Rita
Editor: Eghian Robert

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 28 2007

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 28, NOYAN TAPAN. Tigran Karapetian, the Chairman
of the People’s Party, the owner of the ALM TV company, knows that he
will not be elected, but nevertheless, he will run for the forthcoming
presidential elections. Declaring this at the September 28 press
conference, he explained: "I want to be in the game. If I am not
a candidate for the elections, my supporters will have to vote for
another one. Why should I make my electorate serve for another force?"

According to T. Karapetian, none of the probable candidates for
presidency has anything to offer to the people, and the latter will
have to choose the lesser of two evils. As he characterized, the heads
of the current opposition are indeed former authorities, who wish to
come to power once again. And ARFD making part of power by offering
a candidate of its own seeks absolute power, he possibility of which,
however, ARFD will not have at least for 10 more years in case Prime
Minister Serge Sargsian is elected. T. Karapetian is convinced that
the very current Prime Minister will be elected the next President.

T. Karapetian treats sceptically the possibility of L. Ter-Petrosian’s
running for the elections. According to him, L. Ter-Petrosian should
have a sufficient ground for making such a decision. However, in
his words, he lacks such grounds. T. Karapetian also gave assurance
that if the first President nevertheless runs for the elections,
in this case the elections will finish in one tour, as when making
choice between him and S. Sargsian the protestant electorate will
vote for the latter. The PP Chairman added that the problem of the
authorities is not L. Ter-Petrosian’s running for the elections,
but the team ready to return with him.