Lragir, Armenia
Dec 22 2007

FIRST PRESIDENT SINGLES OUT ORINATS YERKIR PARTY AND DASHNAKTSUTYUN

On December 22 the first president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan,
presidential candidate, addressed the congress of political parties
and civil society which support him and stated that the government is
up for tearing to parts the potential of the opposition, encouraging
nomination of sham candidates. Levon Ter-Petrosyan explained this
circumstance as dangerous, saying that thereby the government is
first creating additional resource, as well as dissipating votes and
facilitating fraud.

With regard to sham candidates, Levon Ter-Petrosyan said it does not
concern two political forces which have nominated presidents – the
Orinats Yerkir Party and the ARF Dashnaktsutyun. According to Levon
Ter-Petrosyan, these forces have their stable electorate and they
lead an ideological struggle in the presidential race. Levon
Ter-Petrosyan says by saying sham candidates he means `some
notorious’ activists who ran in the presidential elections in 1998
and 2003 to strike the opposition from the back, first father then
son Demirchyan.