A strong plank in President Robert Kocharyan's campaign platform has been his success in bringing a 12-percent economic growth to Armenia over the past five years.

His challenger, Stepan Demirchyan could lay no such claim to economic development, but managed anyway to earn a place in tomorrow's Presidential Election runoff. And over just the past two weeks, it seems the very fact of the runoff has increased business fasr more than 12 percent for one segment of the Armenia business world . . .

"Thanks to these demonstrations I earned more money than I could have earned during a week," says 70-year old Rosa, who sells sunflower seeds.

They have become as much a part of this election season as black coats and phony smiles. And their use has turned the path to the Institute of Manuscripts into the world's largest bird-cage floor as politicians descending Mashtots walk through puddles of the crunchy little seeds into their adoring masses.

An unscientific but reliable survey by ArmeniaNow found that seed sales- at 25 drams (about 4 cents) per shot glass -- are up by as much as 200 percent in the rally district.

Rosa has been selling seeds for 15 years, and she says demonstrations since February 20 have made nearly every day her best - comparable only to Independence Day, September 21.

"When people crack seeds during demonstrations, it means that they came there for no particular reason, just in order to be present," says another representative of that business Henrik Aramyan, 65. He recalled the Karabakh movement's demonstrations of 1988, when hundreds of thousands were raising their fists for hours.

"Who would dare to crack seeds at that holy moment, or who would dare to sell seeds?" says Aramyan.

However, the five Demirchyan and one Kocharyan demonstrations were a seed-sellers' gold rush.

Another Rosa, this one 74 and a 10-year veteran vendor took up a strategic position along Mashtots for yesterday's Kocharyan demonstration, but was disappointed to learn that the pro-Kocharyan forces are less keen on cracking than is the Opposition.

"Either they (the Opposition) were more generous, or more idle," mentions the seller.

A Yerevan street sweeper agreed that fewer flower seeds fell on Mashtots Monday though the crowd was significantly larger than on previous days.

"Today there is incomparably less seeds rubbish than after the previous demonstrations," the sweeper said. "Perhaps there are more officials and they feel shy of cracking, or as they are richer they buy only nuts."

During the Kocharyan demonstration there were less seeds-sellers. If during the previous demonstration one could see vendors every 100 meters, yesterday the monopoly of that business was given to six or seven people.

But, word having apparently spread in the seed-selling community that the Opposition is crazy for cracking, about twice as many sellers went to Republic Square yesterday.

"None of the demonstrations were useful for anyone but us," said Arusyak, a chemist by education but a seed seller by necessity. "The demonstrations were not even started, but I had already earned 3,000 drams (about $5.15). What a pity that I had brought with me only five kilograms, otherwise I would have earned more."

Yesterday's dual rallies presented a politico-economic crises for at least one seed seller.

"Today my business is not going on well," says Nelly Muradyan. " I have always thought that the Republic Square is not my place, my sunflower seeds have always sold badly here.

"But I could not stay near the Matenadaran and listen to the lies of the authorities, in spite of the fact that I don't believe in what Demirchyan says."