If no second round is required in the upcoming presidential election in Armenia, it will mean that there is no democracy in the country, says Paruyr Hayrikyan, candidate for president of Armenia, Leader of the Union for National Self -Determination Party. He told media on Wednesday that the incumbent authorities may falsify the election outcome and some pre-election bribes have already been given to the people with disabilities. The candidate said that he will support the opposition candidate with the most realistic program if he fails to reach the second round of election. As regards his serious rivals in the presidential race,
Hayrikyan said that most of the candidates are the friends who forgot the past rather than rivals.
"Hrant Bagratyan, Raffi Hovannisian and Serzh Sargsyan, probably, forgot that yet not so long ago they worked against me in a team under chairmanship of Levon Ter-Petrosyan. So, speaking of their rivalry:" Hayrikyan said.
Hayrikyan was displeased with Heritage Party Leader Raffi Hovannisian's statement saying that the key rivals are Serzh Sargsyan and Raffi Hovannisian. "I think it is hard to imagine Armenia without Hayrikyan. Armenia must become united," Hayrikyan said.
In the meanwhile, another candidate for president Aram Haroutiunyan doubts that the incumbent president will get 50% of the votes. He believes that not all the votes that were given to the Republican Party of Armenia during the past parliamentary elections will be given to the incumbent president. The heavy socio-economic situation in the country is another obstacle to that, he said. Haroutiunyan urged all the candidates to reach an agreement to withdraw their candidatures a few days become the election in order Serzh Sargsyan fails to retain power legitimately. The politician is sure that there will be a second round of election, but he has not yet decided whom to support. "For me it is a priority to overthrow the corrupt and anti-national authorities," he said.
To recall, out of 15 presidential candidates, two are nominated by the political parties: incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan from the Republican Party and former prime minister Hrant Bagratyan from the Liberty Party. All the remaining are self-nominated candidates: Leader of the Union for National Self- Determination Party Paruyr Hayrikyan, Leader of Heritage Party Raffi Hovannisian, Advisor for Political Issues of the Refugees and the International Law Civil
Society Network, ex-foreign minister of NKR Arman Melikyan, a member of Prosperous Armenia Party Ruben Ayvazyan, non-party man Taron Abrahamyan, Leader of the Progressive Socialist Party Robert Aharonyan, Director of Hay Radio Andreas Ghukasyan, unemployed ethnographer Vardan Sedrakyan, Head of Kashatagh NGO Robert Simonyan, pensioner Pavlik Sargsyan, unemployed Mher Hayrapetyan, and head of the NAtional Press Club Narine Mkrtchyan. The elections will be held on Feb 18 2013. Seven out of 15 candidates have not yet paid the deposit for participation in the election and may be rejected by the
CEC.