Raffi Hovannisian’s Heritage Party will participate in Armenia’s June parliamentary election by aligning with other opposition forces in the country.

Hovannisian, Armenia’s first foreign minister, today announced that the field of opposition candidates vying for the post of prime minister is already overloaded and that he is not personally fixated on becoming a candidate.

He did not specify what opposition forces Heritage might join.

Hovannisian established the Heritage Party in 2002, which secured 6% of the popular vote in the 2007 parliamentary election.

In 2013, Hovannisian was among the seven candidates in the presidential election and finished second with 35% of the vote. Citing alleged electoral fraud, he contested the official results showing that incumbent Serzh Sargsyan won with over 58% of the vote.

Following the February 2013 election, protests were held both in Yerevan—particularly in Liberty Square—and in other cities and towns across Armenia. Hovannisian, who went on a twenty- day hunger strike, called on Sargsyan to acknowledge what he described as the "people's victory" and accept defeat. He referred to this movement as 'Barevolution', a portmanteau of 'barev' (meaning 'hello') and 'revolution', which referenced his campaign habit of personally greeting citizens.

The demonstrations gradually fizzled out by April of that year.