SHAVARSH KOCHARIAN HOPES THAT OPPOSITION, IN ANY WAY, WILL MANAGE TO SETTLE ISSUE ON COMMON CANDIDATE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENCY

Noyan Tapan
Nov 13 2007

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The issue on the shift of power
will not be settled by the 2008 presidential elections as the
center of the authorities, according to the amended Constitution,
is not the institute of the President but the National Assembly and
the government. Therefore, as Shavarsh Kocharian, the Chairman of
the National Democratic Party, mentioned at the November 13 press
conference, even if an opposition candidate is elected president,
the factual power of the country will continue to be in the hands of
the National Assembly and the government. And if a representative of
the authorities is elected president, in his words, "the unicenter,
autocratic system" will be consolidated in Armenia. This, in its turn,
as Shavarsh Kocharian stressed, will slow down the democratic processes
of the country.

"The efforts made for finding a common opposition candidate in the
current stage were not crowned with success and, therefore, there will
be a struggle between the current and former authorities," Shavarsh
Kocharian said. At the same time, he expressed hope that before the
deadline for the nomination of candidates, the opposition figures
will, however, manage to find a common candidate. In his words, that
candidate will be a real alternative the former authorities cannot be.