On 21 January, the official campaign for RA
presidential election started that will continue until 16 February.

Eight
candidates will run for the office of president on 18 February 2013 elections:
the incumbent president, leader of Armenian Republican Party Serzh
Sargsyan, leader of Freedom political party, former prime minister Hrant
Bagratyan, leader of Heritage political party Raffi Hovhannisyan, leader
of National Self-Determination union Parouyr Hayrikyan, leader of National
Concord political party Aram Haroutyunyan, and Andrias Ghukasyan, Vardan
Sedrakyn and Arman Melikyan who have no party affiliation.

The
parliamentary parties Prosperous Armenia and Armenian Revolutionary
Federation, as well as the Armenian National Congress did not
nominate candidacies and did not announced support to any of the candidates.
The Rule of Law political party officially declared that it will support
the incumbent president.

Election programs will be presented during the
campaign

Presidential candidates published their campaign
slogans and, partially, also their election programs.

Serzh Sargsyan will have the biggest number of
campaign headquarters (about 1500). His slogan is “Towards secure Armenia” and
symbol is a leaf.  

Hrant
Bagratyan's election slogan is “Only 100 steps”. He will have 40 campaign
headquarters.

Raffi
Hovhannisyan chose “It is possible” slogan and declared that all offices of the
Heritage party will become headquarters for the electoral campaign.

Parouyr
Hayrikyan's slogan is “Belief through action”. In Yerevan he will have 4
offices and the number of offices in marzes is not yet clear.

Aram
Haroutyunyan participates in the election with a slogan “I am one of you”.
Vardan Sedrakyan, who calls himself a specialist on epos, was the first to put
in circulation a slogan “There is God above”. Arman Melikyan said that he would
publish his slogan after the start of the campaign.

And
Andrias Ghukasyan declared that he would not participate in the campaign. He
demanded that the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) announce void the
registration of the candidate of the ruling party in order to provide for fair
and transparent elections. Otherwise he promised to go on a hunger strike.

After the CEC declined
his requirement, he fulfilled his promise and went on a hunger strike on the
campaign start day, in front of the building of the National Academy of
Science, with a slogan “Put an end to the fake elections”.

The candidates declared that their election
programs will mostly be published during the campaign.  Some candidates, for
example, Serzh Sargsyan, Raffi Hovhannisyan and Hrant Bagratyan, have already
operated Internet pages, in which they also placed their election
programs. 

Candidates-
four experienced and four “beginners”

Four
of the candidates have experience in running for the elections. Parouyr
Hayrikyan run for the first presidential election in the newly established
Republic of Armenia in 1991 and received 8 per cent of the votes. In 1996, he nominated
his candidacy but then took it out in support of the united opposition
candidate- Vazgen Manoukyan. In 1998 presidential election, Mr Hayrikyan
received 5.41 per cent of the voters' support.

Aram Haroutyunyan nominated his candidacy in 2003
and 2008 presidential elections, collecting less than 1 per cent of the votes.  In 2008, 2892 voters,
or 0.1 per cent, voted for him.

The
former Minister of Foreign Affairs of NKR Arman Melikyan also has experience in
participation in the RA presidential elections. He run in 2008 and received
4399 votes, or 0.2 per cent of votes.

In
2008 presidential elections, the incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan collected
862.000 votes or 51.6 per cent of the votes, and took the office of the RA
president.

The
other four candidates are running for the RA presidential election for the
first time.

Serzh Sargsyan has the most financial resources
and Vardan Sedrakyan - the biggest amount of real estate

The Internet page of CEC contains declarations of
only four out of eight candidates about their property and income. According to
it, all four candidates have one car each.

Only
Hrant Bagratyan has stocks - 0.0003 per cent of share in «Pernod-Recard»
company.

The
section of valuable property was filled out only by candidate Serzh Sargsyan.
He has old-aged items of 18-20 centuries (statuettes, pieces of sculpture,
etc.), collection of paintings (Khanjan, Saryan, Hakobyan, Gyourjan,
Bashinjaghyan, Minas, Ervand Kochar, Kojoyan, Abeghyan), 32 pieces of paintings
of the 20^th century.

The
biggest amount of the real estate property is possessed by Vardan Sedrakyan. He
declared about 4  land plots and a
farmyard in Kotayk marz, and one apartment in Yerevan.

Mr
Sedrakyan is followed by Hrant Bagratyan, who declared one summer house, two
apartments and a garage in Yerevan.

Raffi
Hovhannisyan has two houses in Yerevan, and the incumbent president Serzh
Sargsyan declared one house in Stepanakert.

The
section on income was filled out only by Serzh Sargsyan and Hrant Bagratyan.
Thus, Serzh Sargsyan's income was composed of 3 898 800 AMD of the RA
President's salary and 2 595 017 AMD of payment in addition to the presidential
salary, as well as income of 10 925 535 AMD received of the bank deposit at the
Araratbank.

Hrant
Bagratyan declared as income his NA Deputy salary - 2 180 980 AMD, salary
received from the Russian-Armenian University - 1 073 900 AMD, salary from the
University on Banking of the National Bank of Ukraine - 91 439 Hrivna, income
from the share at “Pernod-Recard” (France) - 9400 Euro, rent payment (Asmus
Rotne) - 7 342 000 AMD.

By
the day of declaration Serzh Sargsyan had 108.4 million AMD, Vardan Sedrakyan -
9.9 million AMD, Raffi Hovhannisyan - 402 thousand AMD and 51 thousand USD,
Hrant Bagratyan - 65 thousand USD.

Is
the outcome of election predetermined?  

Richard Kirakosyan, analyst and Director of the
Center of Regional Studies, envisages that this election will become the least
competitive presidential election in the political history of Armenia, which
reflects the current political reality in the country: not united opposition,
and low level of political debates.

The
analyst also predicts that the level of interest and participation of the
population in this election will be pretty low.

Karen
Kocharyan, expert in political technologies, expressed his opinion that among nominated
presidential candidates only Serzh Sargsyan has real chances to be elected, the
other seven candidates have no chances. In his opinion, the atmosphere in this
election is of much less tension than the last parliamentary elections, while
in Armenia usually presidential elections are held in extremely tense struggle.

In
the expert's opinion, the second place will be reached most probably by Hrant
Bagratyan or Raffi Hovhannisyan.