Tsarukyan won't challenge Sargsyan

On Wednesday the Prosperous Armenia Party held a meeting of political council to discuss party’s position on the upcoming 2013 presidential elections.

Opening the meeting, party’s leader Gagik Tsarukyan said he would not run for president, expressing gratitude to his colleagues for confidence and assistance.

Based on Tsarukyan’s statement the participants decided that the Prosperous Armenia Party will not participate in the presidential elections and will not support any of the candidates during the upcoming elections.

The ruling Republican Party of Armenia was pleased with Tsarukyan's decision as well as supporters of incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan. "The absence of candidates from other political forces is not the Republican Party's problem," member of the party, MP Ovanes Saakayn said.

Some independent media reported that Tsarukyan probably decided not to confront the authorities as he realized how hard their reaction may be. Still the reason, why he decided not to take part in the polls, remain unclear. All statements made so far showed that Tsarukyan wants to run for president. He was considered to be the most influential politician in the country. Even famous political scientist Agaron Adibeyan, who is known to be a supporter of the current president, admitted that Tsarukyan's approval rating is 45 per cent.

Tsarukyan's decision was a surprise for voters but not for politicians and experts. Some media reported that Tsarukyan and President Sargsyan held continuous talks. It was also clear that authorities were very nervous as they had a very influential and powerful opponent.

However, it seems that Tsarukyan should have been aware of the possibility of such pressure. That is why others believe that his decision not to run for president was influenced by some foreign power. many believe that Russia can be such a power. "These presidential elections will be crucial not only for the country itself but for the whole region. Russia is now paying special attention to the region and any event unfolding here should be examined from the point of view of the Russia's conflict with western powers," former presidential aide Ashot Manucharyan says.

Experts believe that in the result of the unofficial talks between Sargsyan and Tsarukyan some changes in cabinet may take place. Analysts say that the country may get a new prime minister soon. This means that the elections won't be an end of the continuing political game. The main intrigue of this game did not come to be - the one expected to make a decisive challenge did not make it.

"These electionbs will be slow, quiet and gloomy. These will elections with no actual choice," analyst Ayk Balasyan says. Still one should not forget that there are a lot of voters who will never support the incumbent president, it's not clear whom they will vote for.


Susanna Petrosyan. Yerevan. Exclusively to VK.