Yesterday opposition leader Stepan Demirchyan said on Wednesday that he will not stand in the upcoming presidential election and urged his People’s Party of Armenia (PPA) to campaign for former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan instead. The PPA’s governing Council agreed to the proposed endorsement of Ter-Petrosyan after an apparently heated debate that lasted for over two hours. The decision came as a major boost to Ter-Petrosyan’s efforts to muster broad-based opposition support for his presidential candidacy, even if it still needs to be approved by the PPA’s larger Board. “Based on the fact that PPA chair Stepan Demirchyan is not going to run in the presidential elections on his own and considering the fact that a very strong opposition camp is being formed next to Ter-Petrosyan the PPA has decided to reunite forces with the former President taking into consideration political and ideological similarities,” the PPA statement runs. The announcement was endorsed unanimously. Stepan Demirchyan will address the rally participants November 16th.
