Candidate for MP in the Artashat 17th precinct Grisha Virabyan says that his decision to withdraw his candidacy is an act of protest against the opposition. “Even more, at this point the government turned to be more moral than the opposition because the government recognized me as their competitor and even suggested to meet and talk… As for the opposition, they did not do anything… It does not mean that the government has come to an agreement with me,” said Grisha Virabyan to radio Liberty. The latter assures that despite the fact the opposition has left him alone in a difficult time he will continue his struggle for protecting the ideologies of the opposition. “My opinions have not changed and I still stand by the opposition and demand to release all political prisoners…and start a real dialogue,” he said. By the way, representative of the national movement Levon Zurabyan refused to comment on the withdrawal and this action of protest against the opposition.
To note, in the beginning there were three candidates in this precinct. These candidates were Hovik Abrahamyan, Grisha Virabyan and CRU leader Hrant Khachatryan. The latter withdrew his candidacy in July.