The conversations about the union of several oppositional presidential candidates and endorsement of a single candidate becomes more concrete day by day. Recently there has been a publication in the press media, by which it was assumed that the ARF candidate Vahan Hovhannisyan, NDU candidate Vazgen Manukyan and chairman of the Heritage Party are contemplating over endorsing a joint presidential candidate. We tried to find out from the NDU campaign office whether Manukyan negotiates with the mentioned leaders around forming a coalition. “Only one candidate can run against Serzh Sargsyan and that candidate is Vazgen Manukyan,” said the head of Manukyan’s campaign office Samvel Shahinyan. “No matter who Manukyan joins will be useless to both him or the other candidate. But if the other candidates join it will become logical and a powerful union. I don’t have any information about those negotiations. One thing I can say for sure. Manukyan will not ever join the ANM.” When speaking to us the press secretary of the Heritage Party Hovsep Khurshudyan said that at present their party is negotiating with the ARF candidate Vahan Hovhannisyan, NDU chairman Vazgen Manukyan, Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Artur Baghdasaryan. “However, several days ago Vahan Hovhannisyan and Artur Baghdasaryan stated that they would go till the end. It means that the possibility of endorsing them is diminishing. If you remember we have announced that we would endorse the candidate, who would join one of the mentioned forces,” said Khurshudyan. Let us remember that on January 18 the Heritage party asked Vahan Hovhannisyan, Artur Baghdasaryan, Ter-Petrosyan and Vazgen Manukyan to unite in a joint run in the presidential race. Yesterday Samvel Shahinyan confirmed that the party is planning to go till the end. “That is definite. Moreover, I am sure that any po9litcal force, which is concerned abut the future of the country doesn’t have any other option but to join us for a joint struggle,” said Vazgen Manukyan campaign officer Samvel Shahinyan. Shahinyan also informed that in close future Manukyan is planning to hold a major hall meeting in participation of the parties, which endorse him. Those parties are the SIM, Alliance of National Democrats, National Democratic Party, National State, UKHT and NDU parties. The purpose is to create a national democratic field. “There is nothing like that. Vahan Hovhannisyan is not going to withdraw his candidacy. He will go till the end. At present we are not even negotiating on endorsing Vahan Hovhannisyan. We have just had conversations about establishing a joint headquarters aimed at fighting against electoral violations,” said the ARF Press Officer Spartak Seyranyan. Let’s also remember that on February 1 Ter-Petrosyan announced at one of his marz rallies in Vanadzor that he has serious grounds to say that soon Artur Baghdasaryan and Raffi Hovhannisyan will join him in the race. Of course both Ter-Petrosyan and Baghdasaryan rushed to claim that they will be the joint opposition candidates and even tried to link the undecided Heritage party chairman Raffi Hovhannisyan to them. Baghdasaryan in his turn did not deny those rumors. In this regard Khurshudyan said that under these circumstances the chance of endorsing the two mentioned leaders increases. He also informed that the majority of the party leadership is for endorsing Ter-Petrosyan.
