Mediamax, Armenia
Oct 18 2007

Armenian politician warns against concentration of power in ruling
party’s hands

Yerevan, 18 October: The former regime cannot be an alternative to
the current one in the 2008 presidential election, National
Democratic Party [NDP] leader Shavarsh Kocharyan said in Yerevan
today.

Kocharyan said the opposition needs to nominate as its single
candidate a politician who is not in power.

Kocharyan warned against the concentration of all branches of power
in the hands of the Republican Party of Armenia if its leader, Prime
Minister Serzh Sargsyan, is elected president.

He said the country needs a serious growth which can only happen if
there is a balanced political arena.

Such changes are impossible under the former regime either, in
particular, under the first president of the country [Levon
Ter-Petrosyan]. "The presidential election in Armenia cannot result
in regime change in the county because the parliamentary elections
play a key role in this issue," Kocharyan said.

The NDP will not nominate a candidate of its own but will contribute
to the process of the opposition’s unification, he added.