(In story issued April 2, corrects Torosyan's title to parliament speaker from spokesman in third paragraph)

(Adds quotes, background)

By Hasmik Mkrtchan

YEREVAN, April 2 (Reuters) - Armenia's Republican Party nominated acting leader Serzh Sarksyan on Monday for the post of prime minister, paving the way for a bid for the presidency next year.

President Robert Kocharyan is widely expected to sign a decree endorsing Sarksyan's candidacy.

"Wednesday is the deadline for the appointment of a new prime minister, and I think that namely on Wednesday the president will appoint the prime minister," Parliament Speaker Tigran Torosyan told reporters.

Previous Prime Minister and party leader Andranik Margaryan, died suddenly of a heart attack on March 25, depriving the tiny ex-Soviet state of three million of a unifying figure ahead of parliamentary polls scheduled for May 12.

Sarksyan, 52, who is expected to stand for the presidency of the Caucasus nation in an election next year, has been defence minister since 2000.

"Serzh Sarksyan is one of the most experienced and deserving candidates for the post of prime minister," said Torosyan, who is also deputy chairman of the Republican Party. He said other major coalition parties had already approved Sarksyan's candidacy.

"All the agreements have already been reached, and there can be no surprises," he said.

The Republican Party is expected to do well in next month's parliamentary election.

Analysts believe Sarksyan may seek the presidency after Kocharyan's second -- and last -- five-year term expires.

Christian Armenia is locked in a bloody dispute with Muslim Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Many voters in next year's presidential election may be influenced by the fact that Sarksyan, like Kocharyan, comes from Karabakh.

The area, administratively part of Azerbaijan, is populated by ethnic Armenians who defy Baku's rule. More than 35,000 people died in the Karabakh conflict before a 1994 truce.

Armenia, hemmed by Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia and Iran, relies heavily on financial and moral support from a huge diaspora in Russia, Western Europe and the United States.

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