Former presidential candidate Raffi Hovannisian starts hunger strike in Armenia

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. Raffi Hovannisian, a former presidential candidate and a leader of oppositional Heritage party of Armenia, started a hunger strike on Sunday, Novosti-Armenia reported.

Hovannisian stayed behind incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan in the presidential election on February 18.

At the rally of his supporters on Liberty Square in Yerevan the former candidate said he would stop eating to protest against “falseness, lie and fear.”

Hovannisian didn’t unveil the period of his hunger strike declaring Serzh Sargsyan will be sworn in to the second term on April 9 “only over his dead body.”

 

“If Sargsyan takes the false oath on the Constitution or Bible, if Patriarch desecrates Bible blessing the candidate who mocks the peoples of Armenia, they will do it over my dead body,” Hovannisian said.

He also noted “the national consent regime” is planned to be formed on Liberty Square, and the Constitutional court will rebuff its own judicial system if it rejects  his complaint on the presidential election.”

In March 2011 Hovannisian was holding a 15-day hunger strike propagating “Hunger strike in favor of liberty.” At that time he compiled “a list of expectations” containing 15 points.

According to the final results of the election, Armenia’s incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan won re-election Monday with 861,378 votes or 58.64%. Raffi Hovannisian, Heritage party leader, stayed behind with 36.74% of vote. However, Hovannisian didn’t recognize the results and declared on “Barevolution” (Revolution of greetings). Since February 20, Hovannisian’s supporters have been organizing rallies and protests in Yerevan and provinces of the country. -0-