HERITAGE PARTY LEADER REVEALS OBJECTIONS TO ELECTION PULLOUT

588_4/18/2009_1
Friday, April 17, 2009

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–Opposition leader Raffi Hovannisian said on Friday
that his Heritage party decided not to contest next month’s mayoral
elections in Yerevan over his objections.

Heritage’s governing board made the decision late last month after the
failure of its negotiations with former President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s
Armenian National Congress over the formation of an electoral alliance.

The two opposition forces disagreed on who should top their list of
candidates in the May 31 elections of a municipal council and thus be
their single candidate for the post of Yerevan mayor. Armenian National
Congress nominated Ter-Petrosian’s candidacy, while Heritage insisted
initially that the list should be topped by one of its own leaders.

The Heritage board said the only opposition party represented in
Armenia’s parliament will rather pull out of the mayoral race than
split the hitherto united opposition. But it only implicitly urged
supporters to vote for Ter-Petrosian’s party.

Hovannisian, who founded Heritage in 2002 and remains its top leader,
revealed that he stood for the party’s participation in the polls
but that most members of the board thought otherwise. "In any case,
I respect the board’s decision," he told a news conference. "But I
don’t always agree with its decision and I think that the participation
[in the elections] would be right."

Hovannisian dismissed speculation that he dodged responsibility
for these and other key issues facing the party. He said the fact
that he found himself in minority and did not impose his will on
the Heritage board only proved his and his party’s commitment to
democratic principles.

The U.S.-born politician, who had served as Armenia’s first foreign
minister in the Ter-Petrosian administration, also reaffirmed
Heritage’s intention to strive for the proper conduct of the May
31 polls. As a parliamentary force, Heritage is legally entitled to
controlling one of the nine seats in Armenia’s election commissions.