DECISION OF THE HERITAGE PARTY COUNCIL

Acknowledging the Heritage Party’s accountability before Armenia, its citizens, and the party electorate, as well as the party’s publicly mandated mission to consolidate and strengthen the Armenian statehood; underscoring the import of the presidential elections—scheduled for February 19, 2008—whose objective is the improvement of the living standards of Armenian citizens, the transition to a fully democratic political system, the reinstatement of the constitutional order, and the growth of economy; and remaining true to the party’s determination to take part in all political processes, the session of the Heritage Council affirms:

a) Because of his broad support and distinct prominence among the Armenian citizens, Heritage leader Raffi K. Hovannisian has always been recognized as a worthy candidate for presidency. The non-resolution—for over sixteen years and due to directly political motives—of Hovannisian’s Armenian citizenship issue has placed a roadblock against his presidential contention.
b) Raffi Hovannisian has formally applied for citizenship on numerous occasions ever since Armenia’s independence in 1991. He was also the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of the newly independent Armenia, and all through—and subsequent to—his official tenure he has served our country with devotion. This unwavering civic appeal by Hovannisian was finally fulfilled, by the decree of president Kocharyan, but arbitrarily as of 2001 and not 1991. Hovannisian’s ensuing court appeals likewise delivered no results as the judicial marionette theaters did not display the courage to hand down a just verdict. Subsequently, the Central Election Commission refused to register Hovannisian as a candidate in the presidential elections of 2003.
c) On November 21, 2007, the Heritage board forwarded a formal petition to the incumbent president requiring him to reexamine and endorse the public demand to grant Raffi Hovannisian citizenship ever since the independence of Armenia. On November 23, the presidential cabinet rejected Heritage’s appeal to review the aforesaid decree, therefore denied Hovannisian of his right to candidature, and also gave the relevant state bodies a “special” instruction to yet again refuse registering him as presidential candidate.
d) Even though there are more than enough legal bases for granting Raffi Hovannisian Armenian citizenship as of 1991, the actual reason behind this denial is the lack of a political will and the calculated plot of continually leaving a major political opponent on the sidelines. It is also noteworthy that both the first and second presidents have granted—on many instances and based on a variety of rationale—Armenian citizenship to countless people and they have done this without any limitations or problems. 

Considering the abovementioned facts, the session of the Heritage Council decides:

1. Not to nominate a candidate for the forthcoming presidential elections;
2. To empower the party board to make the final decision, following the official registration of all presidential contenders, with respect to the format of the party’s participation in the elections; and
3. Meanwhile and to that end, to instruct the party board to ascertain from all nominees their vision for Armenia and their proposed nationwide solutions, policies, programs, and governance mechanisms, as well as to shed light on their individual and collective qualifications, and then to inform the Armenian public of its findings and conclusions.

Chairman of the Session                                                                               Vardan Khachatrian

Secretary of the Session                                                                                 Mamikon Sargsian

December 6, 2007
Yerevan