LEADER OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW UNION PARTY: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN ARMENIA WILL MOST LIKELY BE HELD IN TWO ROUNDS
arminfo
2008-01-09 18:27:00
ArmInfo. The forthcoming election in Armenia will most likely be held
in two rounds, Leader of the Constitutional Law Union Party (CLU)
Hrant Khachatryan said at a press-conference at Friday discussion
club, Wednesday.
To recall, on December 21, 2007, the CLU Board made a statement about
the party’s intention to support the presidential candidacy of Leader
of the National-Democratic Union (NDU) Vazgen Manukyan.
According to Khachatryan, the CLU Board was guided by the fact that
"since 1990 the leading and state structures of the country have been
undergoing regression and clannish administration has been ruling in
the country. The Republican Party of Armenia led by Armenian Prime
Minister Serzh Sargsyan is not able to carry out necessary radical
reforms, Vazgen Manukyan can do this, therefore we decided to support
his candidacy. One shouldn’t forget that the whole state machinery
and the powerful administrative resource support Serzh Sargsyan,
but we’ll do our best to help our candidate win. I think, the second
round is inevitable, and a situation, when despite the second round,
the power would be changed according to the returns of the first round,
would be the most optimal variant", Khachatryan said.
Touching upon Vazgen Manukyan’s opponents, the CLU leader particularly
spoke about Levon Ter- Petrosyan, the first president of Armenia. It
was Ter-Petrosyan who consolidated the radical opposition, however,
many of his supporters, who hope "to get rid of the present
authorities" with Ter-Petrosyan’s help, are still unable to see
him president again, Khachatryan said. He added that right after
Ter-Petrosyan’s resignation in 1998, CLU and ARF Dashnaksutyun tried to
politically assess Ter-Petrosyan’s regime to avoid similar mistakes in
the future, however, this process was softened by Robert Kocharyan’s
administration. "As regards my relations with Levon Ter-Petrosyan,
I’d better not sort out my relationship not to spoil it completely",
he stressed.