Hindu, India
Feb 20 2008
Early results show Sarkisian leading in Armenian presidential poll
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP): Early preliminary results showed Prime
Minister Serge Sarkisian ahead in Armenia’s presidential election and
on track to win the first round of voting outright, election
officials said Tuesday.
With ballots from more than 10 percent of precincts counted,
Sarkisian had received 53 percent of the vote, the Central Election
Commission said, while his main opponent, Levon Ter-Petrosian, had
received just 11 percent.
Election officials were expected to continue counting ballots through
the night and full preliminary results were not expected before
Wednesday evening.
The election was marred by allegations from Ter-Petrosian that
authorities had rigged the vote. The former president asserted that
he was in fact the victor and called on supporters to rally in the
Armenian capital, Yerevan, Wednesday, to protest the results and
celebrate his win.
Sarkisian and Ter-Petrosian _ Armenia’s first president after the
Soviet collapse _ were the two top contenders vying to lead the South
Caucasus nation, where more than a quarter of the population lives in
poverty despite some economic progress in recent years.
With a population of about 3.2 million, Armenia is at the juncture of
the energy-rich Caspian Sea region and southern Europe. That and its
proximity to Iran, make it of strategic importance for the West and
Russia.