Aram Harutryunyan quits presidential race
08.02.2013,
21:22
The Central Election Commission voided Aram Harutyunyan’s registration as presidential candidate based on his application, Novosti-Armenia reports.
YEREVAN, February 8. /ARKA/. The Central Election Commission voided Aram Harutyunyan’s registration as presidential candidate based on his application, Novosti-Armenia reports.
Harutyunyan, leader of National Consent party, who went yesterday on one-day hunger strike outside the Central Election Commission building, applied to the commission for withdrawal today at 17:00.
The commission satisfied his application. The decision will take force after it appears on the commission’s website.
Earlier, Haruthunyan called on other presidential candidates to withdraw from the race to leave their key rival, President Serzh Sargsyan alone.
He said all those presidential candidates who remain in ballots legitimize the current leadership, and those who quit the election prove that they are independent.
Now seven candidates - Serzh Sargsyan, the Armenian president in office; Hrant Bagratyan, a former prime minister and the leader of Freedom party; Raffi Hovannisian, a former foreign minister and the leader of Heritage party; Paruyr Hayrikyan, a prominent Soviet-era dissident and the head of the National Self-Determination Party; Arman Melikyan, a former foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Andrias Ghukasyan, a political analyst and head of Radio Hay and Vardan Sedrakyan, a specialist in epics – continue their election campaigns and will compete for presidency in the February 18 poll. --0---
