Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Tsarukian Still Vague On Armenian Presidential Election

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Tsarukian Still Vague On Armenian Presidential Election

    TSARUKIAN STILL VAGUE ON ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

    Armenialiberty.org
    Oct 31 2011

    Gagik Tsarukian, the leader of Armenia's second most important
    governing party, on Monday again refrained from explicitly reaffirming
    support former President Serzh Sarkisian's reelection.

    In an interview with the News.am online journal, Tsarukian rejected as
    untrue media speculation about mounting tensions between his Prosperous
    Armenia Party (BHK) and Sarkisian's Republican Party of Armenia (HHK).

    The tycoon himself fuelled that speculation about a month ago when
    he pointedly declined to state, in another interview, whom the BHK
    will support in the next presidential election due in early 2013. He
    spoke just days after former President Robert Kocharian, his longtime
    political patron, indicated his desire to return to active politics.

    Tsarukian committed himself to campaigning for Sarkisian's reelection
    in a February declaration signed with the president and Artur
    Baghdasarian of Orinats Yerkir, the third party represented in
    Armenia's government.

    Media reports this month have claimed that the BHK leader has come
    under strong pressure from the presidential administration and the HHK
    to restate that commitment or risk ouster from the ruling coalition.

    Tsarukian blasted those reports, accusing "certain media outlets"
    of spreading lies. "I think that our politicians, media and society
    in general have long been able to tell real processes from made-up
    campaigns," he said.

    Tsarukian cited the February declaration, saying that the BHK and the
    HHK remain bound by "joint goals." "We announced our joint goals ...

    with the memorandum signed in February, stating that with our active
    steps we will enhance the ruling coalition's role in our country and,
    as a result of the [2012] parliamentary elections, we will earn our
    parties greater representation in the National Assembly," he said.

    Yet significantly, Tsarukian again made no mention of the declaration's
    references to the 2013 presidential ballot.

    Talk of the government pressure on the BHK intensified last week after
    Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian said that political forces failing
    to cooperate with the presidential HHK would "end up empty-handed."

    Although he did not name those forces, the remarks were construed by
    many local commentators as a stern warning to Tsarukian.

    The prime minister insisted over the weekend, however, that he did
    not refer to the BHK.

Working...
X