ARMENIAN COMMUNIST PARTY NOT TO HAVE ITS OWN CANDIDATE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENCY AND NOT TO SUPPORT ANY OTHER POLITICAL FIGURE
Noyan Tapan
Nov 29, 2007
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian Communist Party will
not nominate its own candidate for the February 19, 2008 presidential
elections and will not support the candidature of any other nominated
political figure. This statement was made by Ruben Tovmasian, the
first Secretary of the Central Committee of the above-mentioned party,
in the press briefing given before the 37th regular congress of the
Armenian Communist Party, mentioning that this decision was made by
the Bureau of the Armenian Communist Party. In his words, communists
have no desire and basis for supporting either Serge Sargsian,
representing the current administration, or Levon Ter-Petrosian, the
first President of the Republic of Armenia, the representative of the
former administration, "which robbed the fortune and the common goods"
of the Soviet Armenia, or "any of the other candidates carrying the
so-called capitalist liberal-democratic values."
In response to the question of "If elections are held in two
stages, and any opposition candidate appears in the second stage,
will the Armenian Communist Party not support the latter again,"
Ruben Tovmasian declared that there is no such opposition party
or figure in the country, the basis of which are the slogans
"equality, internationalism, brotherhood, social justice" at the
same time. Therefore, as Ruben Tovmasian stressed, as a result of
ideological divergences, the Communist Party cannot support the
representatives of the opposition field either.
The decision of the Armenian Communist Party concerning the fact of
not taking part in the elections with their own candidate, According
to Ruben Tovmasian, is conditioned by two factors. The first is that
all the elections and referenda have been simulated in the country
for already 17 years, and the second reason is the scanty financial
situation of the Communist Party and the incapability of paying a
security of 8 million drams for nomination.