YEREVAN. – Armenia’s ex-presidential contender, non-party affiliate and epic poetry specialist Vardan Sedrakyan, calls upon the National Assembly (NA) opposition MPs to renounce their parliamentary mandates, and to form a council of politicians that are represented in the NA. Sedrakyan himself said this during a press conference on Thursday.    

In his words, this call of his is addressed first and foremost to the opposition Heritage Faction MPs and, subsequently, to fellow former presidential candidate, opposition Freedom Party Chairman and former PM, Hrant Bagratyan.

“Then a council will be formed, which will be led by the national awakening,” Sedrakyan stated, and added that, or else, the movement will meet an impasse.   

To the query as to whether he could support the movement of Heritage Party Chairman Raffi Hovannisian—who is declared runner-up to the winner, incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan, as a result of the presidential election on February 18, but who claims to be the real winner in the vote—, Sedrakyan responded that Hovannisian’s mode of operation is incomprehensible for him and, before ever supporting Hovannisian, it is first necessary to understand what steps he is preparing to take. Besides, as per Sedrakyan, Hovannisian did not offer the other former presidential hopefuls to join him in his movement.

“And he still demands that Serzh Sargsyan speak before [Saturday,] March 2, and he again wants a meeting [with Sargsyan],” Vardan Sedrakyan said, and noted that the success of this movement depends on the consolidation of the opposition forces, and not on the people.     

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am