By Anna Saghabalian
Armenia’s oldest traditional party has signaled its readiness to support the possible attempt of Armenia’s ex-leader to return to power in next year’s presidential election. Lyudmila Sarkisian, the leader of the Social-Democratic Hunchak Party, did not exclude on Tuesday that first president Levon Ter-Petrosian may win their support as the opposition’s single candidate if he “shows his will for victory”.
But above all, she said, it is essential that the country’s opposition should make an effort to rally around a single candidate ahead of next year’s presidential election.
“I wasn’t among Ter-Petrosian’s supporters at that time, but in today’s situation I see in his person a man capable of engaging in the struggle,” the leader of the small opposition party told reporters.
Sarkisian admitted that the people may well remember the problems that dogged Armenia’s first post-Soviet government and Ter-Petrosian’s administration, but added: “I think Ter-Petrosian has also learned lessons from the mistakes. And today he can appear in a new image.”
However, she did not insist on Ter-Petrosian’s being the only single candidate that they would consider supporting.
“The principle and the need for unity are essential,” Sarkisian reiterated.
“If the opposition is unable to draw conclusions after the parliamentary elections and is unable to unite, we all have nothing else to do in politics,” she explained.
Ter-Petrosian and his office have so far remained tightlipped on their plans for the 2008 presidential election.