ANOTHER OPPOSITIONIST REAFFIRMS PRESIDENTIAL BID
By Astghik Bedevian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Sept 5 2007
Vazgen Manukian, a veteran opposition politician, reaffirmed on
Wednesday his decision to run in Armenia’s upcoming presidential
election, despite his failure so far to win the backing of other
opposition heavyweights.
"In Armenia, people have African wages, European prices of food and
other consumer goods," he said. "There is an elite within the state
that has the right to engage in any form of business, both legal
and illegal, and privileges, including the right to get away with
murders. They are reciprocating all this by helping the authorities
rig elections."
"For me elections are a way of changing that model," Manukian told
reporters.
Manukian, who had served as Armenia’s first post-Communist prime
minister from 1990-1991, has boycotted the ongoing multi-party
negotiations on the possibility of fielding a single opposition
presidential candidate. He defended the boycott on Wednesday, saying
that he believes the talks will prove fruitless. He predicted that
the presidential ballot, due next February or March, will be contested
by a dozen or so candidates.
Most local observers agree that the divided Armenian opposition will
stand a chance of defeating the election favorite, Prime Minister
Serzh Sarkisian, only if it rallies around one or two candidates. Few
of them regard Manukian as a strong contender.
The ex-premier has seen his popularity steadily decline over the
past decade, garnering less than 1 percent of the last in the first
round of the last presidential election held in 2003. So far no
major opposition party except his National Democratic Union (AZhM)
has voiced support for his presidential run.
Manukian claimed that he is undaunted by his perceived lack
of popularity. "I never cared much about my rating," he said. "If
somebody with a higher rating says, ‘Vazgen, come and join me,’ I
will tell them that I don’t care about their rating at all," he added.
Manukian also predicted that former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, who
he had nearly unseated in 1996, will not after all end his retirement
and enter the presidential race. "I am convinced that he will not
field his candidacy," he said.
The two men were the principal figures in Armenia’s first
post-Communist leadership before becoming bitter foes during the early
1990s. They faced each other the disputed 1996 presidential election,
official results of which gave victory to Ter-Petrosian.
Manukian still claims to be the rightful winner of the vote.
"I have no personal feud with the first president," declared the AZhM
leader. "If he wants to meet me, I will not object."
Ter-Petrosian, who is considering running for president, has avoided
any contacts with Manukian, preferring to talk to other opposition
leaders instead. Sources told RFE/RL that he met with Stepan Demirchian
and Artashes Geghamian, the two main opposition candidates during
the 2003 election, in recent days.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
