Election of president by MPs is a surprise for Yerevan residents (+video)

Armen Sargsyan is the only candidate for the presidency of Armenia, whose election is scheduled for tomorrow. Most residents of Yerevan, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot", did not know that they were deprived of the right to elect the head of state, and had intended to go to the polls.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 2 the Armenian parliament should elect the country's president.

February 28 was the deadline for nominating presidential candidates in Armenia; and the MP Artak Zeinalyan failed to collect the necessary number of votes for his nomination. On February 28, Ara Babloyan, the Speaker of the National Assembly (Parliament), said that only one candidate, Armen Vardanovich Sargsyan, had been nominated by 65 MPs for the presidency of Armenia.

Only seven out of 21 residents of Yerevan, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on February 28 by means of a blitz poll, knew that the president of Armenia would be elected not by citizens, but by MPs. Some of them were going to vote on March 2 at the election.

Gevorg Pogosyan, a Yerevan resident, expressed surprise that he no longer had the right to elect the president, and that there was only one candidate for the post of the head of the state. "Naturally, we can no longer speak about the election, if there is only one candidate – who should we choose from then," he said.

According to Armine Mnatsakanyan, it is incorrect that people are deprived of the right to elect their president. This indicates that the people's opinion is of no interest to anyone, she said.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.