5 OUT OF 9 NOMINATED CANDIDATES TO RUN FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS FOR
FIRST TIME

YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA CEC on January 18 will discuss
the issue of registration of all nine candidates nominated for the
February 19 presidential elections. The candidates for presidency are
the RA Prime Minister, the RPA Chairman, Serge Sargsian, the NA
Vice-Speaker, an ARFD Bureau member, Vahan Hovhannisian, the first RA
President, an ANM member, Levon Ter-Petrosian, the first RA Prime
Minister, the NDU Chairman Vazgen Manukian, the former NA Speaker, the
OYP party Chairman and the current leader of the party’s parliamentary
faction, Artur Baghdasarian, the leader of the National Unity party,
Artashes Geghamian, the Chairman of the People’s Party, the head of the
ALM holding, Tigran Karapetian, the Chairman of the National Consent
party, Aram Haroutiunian, the former NKR Foreign Minister, non-partisan
Arman Melikian. With the exception of L. Ter-Petrosian, who is a
candidate for presidency by the principle of self-nomination, the other
candidates have been offered by their parties.

It should be mentioned that the forthcoming elections are the fifth
presidential elections to be held since Armenia’s independence, 1991.
Five out of nine nominated candidates, S. Sargsian, V. Hovhannisian, A.
Baghdasarian, T. Karapetian, and A. Melikian run for presidency for the
first time. V. Manukian has the biggest experience of running for
presidential elections among the candidates. He ran for presidency in
three out of four presidential elections, in 1996, 1998, 2003, at that,
in 1996 he competed with the President of that time, L. Ter-Petrosian
as a united candidate of the opposition. L. Ter-Petrosian and A.
Geghamian were candidates for two elections: the first in 1991 and in
1996, the second in 1998 and in 2003. A. Haroutiunian was a candidate
for one presidential election, in 2003.