Bako Sahakyan does not intend to run for president of Artsakh in  2020, his successor will be ex-state minister Araik Harutyunyan

ArmInfo.President of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan said at a meeting with representatives of a number of television companies that he does not intend to run for president in 2020.

He stressed that he will participate in the elections only as an  ordinary citizen who must elect a new president of Artsakh. At the  same time, Sahakyan assured that this statement is not a dictate of  the times, but the result of a conscious decision emanating from the  value system of the Armenian people and the need to create a  democratic and civilized statehood. "Since presidential and  parliamentary elections will be held simultaneously in Artsakh, I, as  head of state, will take all necessary measures within my legal  powers to conduct free, fair and transparent elections," Sahakyan  summed up.

It is noteworthy that Sahakyan made such a statement long before the  presidential elections, it is possible that this is due to the recent  internal political unrest in Artsakh, which, according to the Artsakh  experts, have become aftershocks of the changes that have occurred in  Armenia.

According to ArmInfo sources in the Artsakh government, despite the  fact that the participants of the recent protests in Stepanakert  basically put forward social demands, nevertheless, more in-depth  analysis showed that the people, inspired by the events in Armenia,  also expected political and personnel changes. This was the reason  for the resignation of the state minister of Artsakh Arayik  Harutyunyan and the heads of the Police and National Security  Service.

If the resignations of the law enforcers in Artsakh were expected and  occurred at the request of the people, the dismissal of Harutyunyan's  post was in some ways a surprise, since there was no such issue on  the agenda of protesters.

However, as Artsakh analysts note, leaving of Araik Harutyunyan from  his post was the first step in the way of smooth transfer of the  power steering wheel to him by Bako Sahakyan.

According to the information available to ArmInfo, at present  Arutyuyan is preparing to get elected to the parliament through the  majority system, where the "Free Motherland" party he leads has a  stable majority.  It is possible that after the election,  Harutyunyan, taking into account his parliamentary majority, will  head the Artsakh parliament, thus creating a political basis for the  start of the presidential campaign.