YEREVAN. – The coverage of Armenian presidential candidate, opposition National Self-Determination Union Chairman Paruyr Hayrikyan—who is discharged from hospital after being treated for a gunshot wound after a recent assassination attempt—increased the most—by 252 percent—, whereas the airtime for the ruling Republican Party presidential candidate, incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan dropped the most—by 34.2 percent—from January 21 to February 6. Chairman Grigor Amalyan of the Armenian National Committee of Television and Radio stated this during a press conference on Monday, but added that such increase in Hayrikyan’s airtime is due to the assassination attempt.  

He informed that, from all presidential candidates, solely opposition Heritage Party Chairman, former FM Raffi Hovannisian, opposition Freedom Party Chairman, former PM Hrant Bagratyan, and Serzh Sargsyan have made use of the paid airtime during the aforesaid time period, whereas the other contenders sufficed themselves with the free airtime they are allocated.    

Also, Amalyan noted that in the cases when a television company could not clearly separate President Sargsyan’s official functions from his election campaign activities, the Committee included the given airtime in the campaign coverage, and to the detriment of the candidate.   

As compared to the monitoring that was conducted between January 21 and 27, this time Bagratyan, Hayrikyan, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic former FM Arman Melikyan, and non-party affiliate, epic poetry specialist Vardan Sedrakyan received more coverage this time. But National Accord party Chairman Aram Harutyunyan—who dropped out of the presidential race on February 8—, Hovannisian, Andreas Ghukasyan—who is on a hunger strike ever since January 21—, and President Sargsyan received less airtime.