“WE DO PIN NOT HOPES ON ROBERT KOCHARIAN”
Support A1+!The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF Dashnaktsutiun) thinks it is time to sum up the pre-election campaign and make assessments.
“We have been preparing for the election race for a long time. We announced that we would name a presidential candidate still during the parliamentary elections,” says ARFD Bureau member Hrant Margarian.
“No matter how hard the authorities tried to involve the ARF Dashnaktsutiun in their camp, we were able to prove that in civilized countries political powers forming a coalition can run in the election and even nominate a candidate.
We took efforts to create an atmosphere of political struggle. I can say that we managed to preserve and even double the votes we gained during the parliamentary election. We could have gained more votes at the previous election but for two factors. Firstly, the authorities took every effort to lead the struggle in an apolitical atmosphere, accompanied by rallies and marches. The coverage and airtime of the election serve as conclusive evidence for my words. Secondly, despite all their efforts to engage people in a civilized struggle and avoid calumny, the stрuggle was not ideological.
“We call on the Armenian people to make a right choice during the election not to regret later on. We call for restraint, tolerance and discretion. I hope people will make a right choice and vote for Vahan Hovhannissian.”
We are already preparing for the second round. I don’t rule out alliances based on ideological principles. Each of the candidates possesses a unique weapon the others lack. Anyway, we are ready to cooperate with all candidates for the sake of a free and fair election. <
We knew quite well that Robert Kocharian would support Serzh Sarkissian. His decision is not vital for us. We don’t rely on Robert Kocharian, we rely on people.
