Armenia has started the presidential campaign. The elections will be held on February 18. Agitation will continue until February 16.
Only 8 out of 15 candidates will run for president: President Serzh Sargsyan, former PM and leader of the Freedom Party Grant Bagratyan, former Foreign Minister and leader of the Heritage Party Raffi Ovannisyan, leader of theNational Self-Identification Union Paruyr Ayrikyan, former Foreign Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Arman Melikyan, a political analyst of Radio Hay Andreas Gukasyan, a researcher of epos VardanSedrakyan and leader of the National Consent Party Aram Arutyunyan.
Candidates will have a maximum of 60 minutes for TV debates and 120 minutes for debates on the Public Radio. Paruyr Ayrikyan will become the first to use the free time. Sargsyan will make his speech on February 16.
Candidates may buy extra time and get a maximum of 120 minutes for debates on the Public Television and 180 minutes on the Public Radio.
Public agitation will be daily at 6 pm. Live shows for candidates will be available from 1.30 pm to 9.40 pm.
Ovannisyan called Sargsyan for debates at the Freedom Square or on TV.
Gukasyan started a hunger strike and addressed Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission Tigran Mukuchyan with a note expressing his views on the elections.
Armenia is about to have the sixth presidential polls. Levon Ter-Petrosyan became the first president of Armenia in 1991, re-elected in 1996. He resigned due to disputes over Nagorno-Karabakh in 1998. Robert Kocharyan was president twice. Sargsyan became president on February 19, 2008.
