Hovannisyan will be discredited if...
The opposition Heritage Party and Armenian National Congress (HAK) alliance will play a key role in the upcoming municipal elections, says political analyst Yervand Bozoyan.
"If the ruling Republican Party (HHK) fails to garner 48 percent of the vote, the opposition forces can, if they join, score more votes than the HHK. If the new mayor is a non-government candidate, it will lead to serious radical changes," he said.
However, the political analyst thinks that Heritage will not register the desired results in case the other political forces do not withdraw from the race. "Raffi Hovannisian has bettered his rating since the parliamentary elections and I think he will have better results in the next parliamentary elections."
Mr Bozoyan says the struggle between Raffi Hovannisian and Serzh Sargsyan reminds the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict which cannot be settled because of parties' conflicting positions. "Similarly, Sargsyan considers Hovannisian's demands to be exaggerated while the latter says Sargsyan has stolen his votes and should compensate for them."
While the political analyst could not predict the outcome of the conflict, he did not rule out collisions between the sides.
"Raffi Hovannisian today faces a serious dilemma. Considering the bitter historical experience, he tries to avoid radical steps not to repeat the wrongful steps of his ancestors. On the other hand, if he does not take serious steps, he will be discredited," said Yervand Bozoyan.
