During a press conference held today, Heritage Party leader Raffi Hovhannisyan stated, "I am ready to follow the campaigns of all the candidates and I wish all on the HAK ballot, the first president of Armenia, my good friend Stepan Demirchyan, and all competing tickets, a successful election." Mr. Hovhannisyan said he'd closely follow all their programs and that on May 31 he'd perform his civic duty and cast his vote. He also stated that the issue of giving Heritage Party seats on local election committees to the HAK (Armenian National Congress) is up to the party's administration and that it has decided to participate in the overseeing of the municipal elections. "This is the first election for Yerevan mayor and city council and we see it as part of the process of democratization and we will participate for the sake of public scrutiny. We are also in the opposition, but not the only one. However, in addition to urging the public to support the opposition, we will also perform our civic duty by ensuring public oversight on May 31st." When asked if he harbored aspirations to run for president in 2013, Mr. Hovhannisyan responded, "The nearly twenty years that I have been in Armenia proves that neither I nor my family is here for any political position. Let those offices go to others. Just let our Armenia become a nation based on the rule of law. I can't rule out any possibility but right now I have no desire to run for office."