Author: Badalian Vardan

ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL RUNNER-UP TO RALLY ON DISPUTED VOTE RESULT

Bloomberg
Feb 20 2013

By Sara Khojoyan – Feb 20, 2013 4:22 PM GMT+0200 .

The runner-up in this week’s Armenian presidential election will hold
a rally to dispute the results and demand the winner, incumbent Serzh
Sargsyan, concedes defeat.

Raffi Hovhannisyan, who garnered 37 percent of the Feb. 18 vote
to Sargsyan’s 59 percent, is planning a demonstration today in the
capital, Yerevan. He wants the president to recognize the “people’s
victory” and start negotiations with him.

Sargsyan is ready to meet Hovhannisyan at any time to clarify his
“incomprehensible” statements, his spokesman, Armen Arzumanyan,
told the panorama.am website.

Sargsyan’s victory for a second term solidifies his standing after
his Republican Party won a parliamentary ballot last year in the
landlocked country that borders Iran and Turkey and fought a war with
neighbor Azerbaijan over a disputed region two decades ago.

Presidential elections in 2008 triggered bloody scenes as 10 people
died amid clashes between opposition protesters and police.

Armenia’s dram, which has lost 4.2 percent against the dollar over the
last year, was down 0.1 percent at 406.9501 at 6:15 p.m. in Yerevan,
data compiled by Bloomberg show.

While observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe noted an improvement in the vote’s conduct, Hovhannisyan
said yesterday that the results don’t “reflect the will of the people.”

Addressing about 2,000 people in Liberty Square in Yerevan,
Hovhannisyan, whose Heritage Party won 5.8 percent of votes in
parliamentary elections last May, accused the Central Electoral
Commission of making a “false calculation.”

In an e-mailed statement today, Heritage said it’s filed reports
detailing more than a hundred violations and complained about a
recount of ballots initiated without notification.

Hovhannisyan’s official showing was better than expected, according
to Alexander Iskandaryan, director of the Caucasus Institute. That
support reflects anti-Sargsyan sentiment, he told reporters today.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT’S WIN ‘TAINTED’

Oman Daily Observer, Sultanate of Oman
Feb 21 2013

YEREVAN – About 5,000 flag-waving protesters rallied yesterday against
Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan’s re-election, saying his victory
was tainted by fraud.

Supporters of Sarksyan’s second-placed rival Raffi Hovannisian filled
Freedom Square in the centre of the capital Yerevan to condemn what
they said were uncounted ballots and other violations.

“Are you ready to stay here long?” Hovannisian asked the crowd. “Are
you ready to stay here until victory? I’m ready.”

“The constitution should win over fraud,” he said, raising a first
above his head after kneeling to kiss the national flag.

Many of Hovannisian’s supporters vowed to continue their protests. –
Reuters

HIS MAJESTY’S GREETINGS TO ARMENIA, ECUADOR

Oman Daily Observer, Sultanate of Oman
Feb 21 2013

MUSCAT – His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has sent a cable of congratulations
to President Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia on the occasion of him being
re-elected as President of the Republic.

In his cable, His Majesty expressed his sincere congratulations and
best wishes of success to President Sargsyan in leading the friendly
people of Armenia to further progress and prosperity.

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has also sent a similar cable of
congratulations to President Rafael Correa Delgado of the Republic
of Ecuador on the occasion of him being re-elected as President for
a third presidential term.

In his cable, His Majesty expressed his sincere congratulations
along with his best wishes of success to President Delgado to lead
the friendly people of Ecuador to further progress and prosperity.

– ONA

OSCE: ARMENIAN ELECTION MORE DEMOCRATIC THAN FORMER POLLS

Interfax, Russia
Feb 19 2013

Monday’s presidential election in Armenia, won by incumbent Serzh
Sargsyan, showed democratic progress but there were serious weak
points as well, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(ODIHR/OSCE) said on Tuesday.

“Candidate registration was inclusive, contestants had the chance
to campaign freely and voters had the opportunity to express their
choice. Media fulfilled their legal obligation to provide balanced
coverage and all contestants made use of their free airtime,” a press
release from the ODIHR cited the international observation mission
at the election as saying in a statement.

However, there was criticism as well.

“We have observed a calm election day, characterized by no major
difficulties in electoral procedures, following a somewhat quiet,
low-key election campaign lacking significant political debate and
real competition,” the release quoted Milan Cabrnoch, head of the
European Parliament delegation, as saying. “This was mainly due to
the decision by three main parties not to nominate candidates.”

At a news conference in Yerevan on Tuesday, Cabrnoch promised that the
European Union would give Armenia any help it needs in its democratic
development.

The Armenian Central Election Commission claims that Sargsyan has
won 58.64% of the vote at the election, and that his chief rival,
Heritage opposition party leader and ex-Foreign Minister Raffi
Ovannisian got 36.75%.

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ARMENIAN BAR ASSOCIATION CHAIRMAN GHAZARIAN: “ARMENIA IS ON THE CUSP OF CHANGE”

19:11, February 20, 2013

Another speaker at this evening’s rally at Freedom Square was Armenian
Bar Association Chairman Garo Ghazarian.

Ghazarian addressed the crowd saying, “For years many have criticized
the Armenian people for not being able to defend their rights. Today,
the people have stood up and voted their will.”

Earlier in the day, Ghazarian said that the election results did not
reflect the will of the people and declared Raffi Hovannisian the
newly elected president of Armenia.

He called on the people to unite and for all political parties,
organizations, communities and others to join with Hovannisian in
the struggle to defend the people’s vote.

Ghazarian concluded, “Armenia is on the cusp of change.”

ARMENIA ELECTION MARRED BY LACK OF COMPETITION: OBSERVERS

Chicago Tribune, IL
Feb 19 2013

February 19, 2013|Reuters

YEREVAN (Reuters) – Armenia’s presidential election was an improvement
on recent elections in the former Soviet republic but was not genuinely
competitive, international observers said on Tuesday.

Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe said Monday’s election, in which
President Serzh Sarksyan was re-elected, was peaceful and generally
well conducted.

RUSSIAN MP WELCOMES ARMENIAN PRESIDENT’S REELECTION

The Voice of Russia
Feb 19 2013

Russian MP Leonid Slutsky believes that the reelection of Serzh
Sargsyan as Armenia’s President will be beneficial for the development
of Russian-Armenian relations.

Mr. Slutsky is the head of the Commission of the Russian Parliament’s
lower house for relations with the CIS countries and Russian citizens
abroad.

He says that during the first term of Mr. Sargsyan’s presidency,
Russian-Armenian relations were friendly and mutually advantageous.

Serzh Sargsyan won the presidential elections on Monday with 58.6%
of the votes.

Voice of Russia, TASS

CIS OBSERVERS DEEM ARMENIA ELECTIONS DEMOCRATIC

The Voice of Russia
Feb 19 2013

Observers from countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States
find the presidential elections in Armenia on February 18th “open,
democratic and in line with international standards”.

According to the head of the CIS observer mission Sergei Lebedev,
the elections were held in a competitive atmosphere.

Meanwhile, the OSCE observer mission believes that the elections were
not competitive.

Observers from the International Expert Center for Electoral Systems
describe the elections as “legitimate and democratic despite a number
of drawbacks”.

More than 58% of voters backed Armenia’s incumbent President Serge
Sargsyan.

Voice of Russia, TASS, RIA

ARMENIA GETS A SECOND DOSE OF SARKSYAN

EuroNews, EU
Feb 19 2013

Armenia’s central election commission has announced President Serzh
Sarksyan has won a second five-year term.

Exit polls when voting ended yesterday gave the incumbent 58% percent
of the vote which the commission said was confirmed in preliminary
results.

“This election proved once again that our people are capable of
uniting at the decisive moment, and making the right decision,”
claimed the victor.

International electoral observers gave the election a clean bill
of health, noting it was an improvement on 2008, but criticised the
“lack of competition” and the failure of politicians to “engage the
public’s interest”.

Police say there have been reports of 70 voting violations including
bribery, and that two criminal investigations have been launched.

SARKISIAN EASILY WINS ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL VOTE

The Associated Press
February 19, 2013 Tuesday 05:10 PM GMT

Armenia’s president easily won a second term, according to preliminary
election results Tuesday, but his main rival claimed vote fraud and
thousands of his supporters held a protest rally.

President Serge Sarkisian received nearly 59 percent of the vote,
enough to avoid a runoff, Tigran Mukuchian, chairman of the country’s
Central Election Commission, said Tuesday.

The 58-year-old Sarkisian was widely expected to win. He has overseen
a return to economic growth after years of stagnation, although the
former Soviet republic still suffers from widespread poverty.

The closest of his six rivals, American-born Raffi Hovanessian,
got 37 percent of the vote.

Hovanessian, Armenia’s first foreign minister after the 1991 collapse
of the Soviet Union, on Tuesday called the election unfair and rigged,
claiming cases of ballot-box stuffing and voters being coerced to
back Sarkisian.

At a protest rally in the capital that drew 2,000-3,000 people,
Hovanessian declared himself the genuine winner and called on Sarkisian
to arrange a transfer of power by Wednesday evening.

The rally ended peacefully, but some participants later held a march
chanting “Raffi is president.”

Just over 60 percent of Armenia’s 2.5 million eligible voters cast
ballots in Monday’s election, the election commission said. All
the votes have been counted, but the winner will not be officially
declared until Feb. 25.

International observers from the Organization for the Security and
Cooperation in Europe say the election “lacked competition,” but they
noted improvements over the previous poll.

OSCE observers said the fact that several influential politicians
decided not to run may have “contributed to apathy and a lack of
trust among voters.”

Observer mission chief Tonino Picula said Tuesday that competition is
“critical” if Armenia wants to live up to democratic aspirations.

Another OSCE news conference in Yerevan, this one by its Office
for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, was disrupted Tuesday
when protesters stormed the room, jeering and demanding that OSCE
representatives leave the country.

“You’re legitimizing an illegal vote by your declarations!” said one
protester, Artur Minasian.

He and other protesters would not say whether they backed Hovanessian
or another opposition candidate.

The landlocked country’s economy is hobbled by the longstanding closure
of its borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey. Both neighbors reject the
occupation by Armenian troops and ethnic Armenian local forces of
Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region. That conflict shows no signs
of resolution despite years of international mediation attempts.