Paryur Harikian: I want to become president for two years

For the leader of National Self-Determination Union (NSDU) Paryur Harikian, the decision of Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) not to field its own presidential candidate has not changed anything. Hayrikian made this statement at a press conference today.

In his words, if Armenia’s all political forces decide not to run in the upcoming election, nothing will change for him. “I have always had my place in the political field. In the last parliamentary elections, we saw freedom of speech and electoral bribery, but the freedom of speech is sufficient for political figures like me to undertake their tasks. Today an office of NSDU opened just 50 meters away from the presidential residence,” he said.

Hayrikian said that in case of winning the election, he will become president for two years. “I love the Armenian people, but I love my freedom, and during those two years I will abolish the post of president. There will be only prime minister and deputy prime minister, this parliament will be dissolved – with its own consent, while the National Assembly will have 81 members because only 30 people do their jobs in the current parliament,” he said.

When asked if he is prepared to withdraw his candidacy in favor of any political force, Hayrikian replied that if he, a parent of the political field, withdraws his candidacy, it will be an offensive action to other candidates who have followed the path he started.

«I think Raffi Hovannisian and others will be upset if I withdraw my candidacy for their sake because when I was engaged in politics, they were just taking first steps in this field. It is a common occurrence here that the men who did not do anything in the political arena and could not even manage their own families in the past, are now nominated as presidential candidates. I am not good at cooking khash, but as a political figure – all the other candidates have followed my path,» he stated.