Will the March 1 unrest repeat?
"A strong candidate is a guarantee for success. Only with Ter-Petrosyan's nomination the Armenian National Congress (HAK) will be able to achieve tangible results," head of the Union of Political Scientists, Hmayak Hovhannisyan says regarding the Ter-Petrosyan's decision to run for the Yerevan Mayor.
"Although the election will not be held through the Municipal Council, people will pay great attention to the candidates and party lists. I expected Levon Ter-Petrosyan to be nominated and I believe that it was his own decision," says Hmayak Hovhannisyan.
Asked whether the election won't be tampered after the HAK's involvement in the election race, the head of the Union of Political Scientists said: "I think that the mechanism of forgeries is deeply rooted in our society. It has always been employed to the full. We should simply try to reduce elections rigging to the minimum."
"Obviously, the election is politicized and gives new opportunities of political struggle" says political scientist Igor Muradyan. "Ter-Petrosyan has made a definite decision: to run for the mayor provided that Stepan Demirtchyan is elected deputy mayor. The latter will deal with economic issues. They have made a good deal. On the other hand, the authorities should try their utmost to name a decent and competent candidate who will not hand down the power to Ter-Petrosyan. "
Generally, Igor Muradyan thinks any dialogue on concessions between the sides is senseless as "the concessions made by the authorities will mean power handover." The authorities will continue "pushing Beglaryan forward."
"Surely, as a political figure Beglaryan cannot be compared with Ter-Petrosyan. But who thinks about political merits and political image? The struggle will be rather tense accompanied by force, provocations and scandals. The repetition of the March 1 events is not excluded," says Mr. Muradyan. None of the candidates has anything to lose. A lot is put at the stake, and none of the sides can draw back. If the authorities make a wrong step they can jeopardise their power," adds the political scientist.
