Voice of America
May 6 2012
Armenians Vote in Calm Parliamentary Poll
Posted Sunday, May 6th, 2012 at 10:40 am
Armenians are voting for a new parliament Sunday, four years after the
former Soviet state’s presidential election ended in deadly clashes
between police and opposition supporters.
Opinion polls indicate President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party
and its ally, Prosperous Armenia, are expected to win a majority of
the 131 seats. Unemployment, poverty and Armenia’s long-running
disputes with neighbors Turkey and Azerbaijan are among the top
campaign issues.
So far, this election has been largely calm unlike the 2008 disputed
presidential race. However on Friday, some 150 people were injured
when gas-filled balloons exploded at an election campaign concert in
the capital Yerevan.
Mr. Sarkisian’s political party was holding the event, and the
president promised a full investigation. It was not immediately clear
what caused the explosions, but some reports said it could have been
caused by a cigarette lit too closely to the balloons.
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Direct link to this article: https://www.armenianclub.com/2012/05/06/armenians-vote-in-calm-parliamentary-poll/