TER-PETROSIAN AGAIN MEETS HOVANNISIAN
By Emil Danielyan
Radio LIberty, Czech Rep.
Dec 17 2007
Former President Levon Ter-Petrosian met on Sunday with another top
opposition leader, Raffi Hovannisian, in an apparent fresh attempt
to secure the latter’s endorsement of his candidature in Armenia’s
upcoming presidential election.
In a short statement issued on Monday, Ter-Petrosian’s campaign
office said the two men met in Ter-Petrosian’s Yerevan mansion to
discuss the political situation in the country and, in particular,
"issues related to the forthcoming presidential elections." "They
agreed to continue those discussions," the statement said.
Neither Hovannisian, nor his Zharangutyun (Heritage) party issued
any statements on the meeting. Aides to the U.S.-born former foreign
minister said they are unaware of its details.
The two opposition figures already held election-related talks last
month. Hovannisian, who had served as independent Armenia’s first
foreign minister in the Ter-Petrosian administration, is among a dozen
opposition leaders whom the ex-president has publicly urged to back
his presidential bid.
Hovannisian is arguably the most popular of those leaders, making
his endorsement particularly significant for Ter-Petrosian. The
Zharangutyun leader is also being courted by the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation, a governing party which will contest the election with
its own candidate.
Hovannisian himself is not eligible to run for president because of not
having been an Armenian citizen for the past ten years. He has so far
declined to throw his weight any of the candidates who will challenge
Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian in the vote scheduled for February
19. Zharangutyun, which is one of two opposition parties represented
in parliament, said earlier this month that its leadership will
decide whom to support after holding negotiations with presidential
candidates and ascertaining their "vision for Armenia."