Armenia: Vote 2007 . Parties & Players

Prime Minister Sarkisian has stated that a free and fair vote is needed to encourage Diaspora investment in Armenia.

Republican Party of Armenia Leader

Serzh Sarkisian is believed to be one of the most influential men in Armenia. Close ties with both President Robert Kocharian (whom he supported in a conflict with President Levon Ter-Petrosian, which led to the latter's 1998 resignation), the business community and Armenia's security agencies and defense ministry provide the foundation for his political status. While some observers contend that President Kocharian is backing the booming Prosperous Armenia Party to create a counter-balance to Sarkisian's political weight, the prime minister has been widely viewed as Kocharian's choice for president once his own term expires in 2008.

Born in 1954, Prime Minister Sarkisian got his start in public affairs as an official in the Komsomol (the youth branch of the Soviet Union's Communist Party) in Stepanakert, capital of the now disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh. In the late 1980s, he became an active member of the Karabakh Movement, which sought to transfer the then Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region from Azerbaijani to Armenian control. When the Soviet Union collapsed and war broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the territory, Sarkisian became one of the organizers of the armed resistance and the self-declared Nagorno Karabakh Republic's de facto defense minister.

In 1993, Sarkisian was named Armenia's defense minister; from 1995-1999, he served as head of the National Security Ministry, resigning from the post after the parliament assassinations of 1999. Sarkisian went on to resume his post as defense minister in 2000, and held the position until the March 2007 death of Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, when he was appointed premier in his place.

Widely believed to have his sights on the presidency, Sarkisian joined the ruling Republican Party in 2006, and was elected chairman of the board. Following Markarian's death, he became the party's acting head.

Sarkisian has repeatedly stated his commitment to ensuring that the 2007 vote is both free and fair. Nonetheless, some observers contend that this commitment is a pragmatic one. Most notably, in an April 2007 interview with The Financial Times, the prime minister stated that the government must choose between reduction in poverty levels and defense of human rights. Sarkisian has executed a similar balancing act in Armenia's foreign relations, taking care to juggle the often competing interests of Russia and the West.

Pro-Government:
Gagik Tsarukian
Vahan Hovhannisian

Opposition:
Artur Baghdasarian
Stepan Demirchian
Artashes Geghamian
Aram Sarkisian
Raffi Hovannisian