Epress.am News from Armenia
Republican Party of Armenia MP and Football Federation of Armenia President Ruben Hayrapetyan at a press conference in the capital today said he won’t be nominated by his party in the May 6 parliamentary elections.
Last year, the reluctant lawmaker had said he doesn’t see himself in the National Assembly and doesn’t intend to continue his parliamentary work; however, later he said his party believes he should be nominated.
Hayrapetyan explained the latest change of plans by saying that he is busy with football-related activity, he is the vice-president of the UEFA and FIFA committees and is often out of the country and his absences, according to Hayrapetyan, are “taken advantage of by the worthy and unworthy.”
To a reporter’s observation that the change of plans could’ve been a PR move, Hayrapetyan responded in the negative, saying that at one time the party actually had decided that he should be nominated but later the party and its leader, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan realized the extent of his busyness and decided otherwise.
The Football Federation of Armenia president mentioned that the country’s president has made it a point to get the Armenian national men’s football team to the World Cup finals, and for this reason Hayrapetyan has to focus on football (and not politics).
It’s not possible to force him, Hayrapetyan said, but his friend MP Samvel Aleksanyan, who in the press expressed regret that Hayrapetyan wouldn’t be nominated, might ask him to change his decision.
“He’s my friend; he’s the guy that could tried to convince me, but I don’t think that he’ll do it,” he said.