YEREVAN. – Hraparak daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: The authorities’ presidential candidate [High-Tech Industry Minister] Vahagn Khachaturyan visited the NA [(National Assembly)] yesterday, met with the [ruling majority] CC [(Civil Contract)] faction, had a short meeting with [NA speaker] Alen Simonyan, who has assumed the powers of the RA President—as required by the Constitution.

Khachaturyan went to the parliament to get acquainted with the pro-government MPs and ask for their support [in order to be elected the next President of Armenia]. He devoted most of the one-and-a-half-hour meeting to presenting his biography, complained about journalists that they distort his biography, write legends—especially about the activities of the years while being [Yerevan] mayor [in the early 1990s].

Our sources informed that the meeting was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere, the MPs received a positive impression from the [presidential] candidate. As it is known, the NA will elect him [President] by secret ballot. According to the Constitution, (…) the President [of Armenia] is elected for a term of 7 years.

According to preliminary calculations, the presidential election [in the NA] will take place within 10 days after February 25.