Category: News

Armenia’s ruling REpublican Party is leading the way in the parliamentary vote after most ballots have been processed.

The early results are as follows:

Yelc bloc -7.69%

Free Democrats -0.90%

Armenian Renessaince-3.71%

Tsarukyan Alliance – 27.58%

Congress-PPA bloc-1,62%

Republican Party – 49.06%

Communist Party – 0.74%

Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanian alliance – 2.08%

Armenian Revolutionary Federation – 6.61%

According to preliminirary results, 1,574,947 citizens or 60.86 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots in the parliamentary elections 2017. The total number of voters was 2,587,706. The voting took place at 2009 polling stations.

The Russian Prosecutor-General’s office will look into all circumstances of Monday afternoon’s blast on a St. Petersburg metro train, including security measures, PGO spokesman Aleksandr Kurennoi told the Vesti-24 television news channel, TASS reports.

“We offer our condolences to the families of those killed and all those affected,” Kurennoi said, adding that the investigative authorities were already probing into the explosion, but the prosecutors would examine absolutely all aspects of the affair.

“We will do our utmost to clear up the factors that made the terrorist attack possible to rule out such cases in the future,” he said.

St. Petersburg’s prosecutor Sergey Litvinenko is coordinating law enforcers’ activities on site.

About 10 people have been killed in an explosion between two underground stations in St Petersburg.

The head of Russia’s National Anti-Terrorist Committee said the blast hit the train between Sennaya Ploschad and Tekhnologichesky Institut stations.

With votes tallied from 99.8 percent of precincts, Armenian Central Electoral Commission said four political forces will make it to the National Assembly.

The preliminary results are as follows:

Yelk bloc – 7.78 %
Free Democrats Party – 0.94 %
Armenian Renaissance – 3.72 %
Tsarukyan alliance – 27.36%
Congress-People’s Party – 1.66 %
Republican Party of Armenia -49.19%
Communist Party of Armenia – 0.75%
Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanian alliance – 2.07%
Armenian Revolutionary Federation – 6.58%

The voter turnout was 60.86%. The final results will be announced in seven days.

The Armenian Renaissance Party has issued a statement, saying it will not contest the results of Sunday’s election.

The party expressed gratitude to 58,000 votes for their principled stance and unbiased attitude.

“For the first time in Armenia the political forces had the opportunity to present their election platforms thanks to balanced TV coverage, but the ideological factor yielded to the material and administrative factors,” the statement reads.

The party announced it “will not contest the election results and will not participate in any post-election public events or rallies”. The party also congratulated the forces that made it to the National Assembly and wished them productive activity for the benefit of the Republic of Armenia.

Charles Aznavour has expressed support for the choice of the citizens of Armenia in Sunday’s elections.

“Whoever is elected by my people, I accept the choice,” the French Armenian singer told a press conference at TASS.

According to him, it would be incorrect to criticize the country from abroad. “I dislike people, who leave the country, but criticize its policy. For me everything is brilliant,” he said.

Aznavour confessed that he does not like to discuss politics. “Although I have friends, who are politicians, I never talk about politics. I talk to them about art – music, cinema, painting. We have plenty of topics,” he noted.

Armenia held parliamentary elections on April 2. According to preliminary results announced by the Central Electoral Commission, four political forces will make it to the National Assembly –Republican Party, Tsarukyan alliance, Yelk bloc and Armenian Revolutionary Federation.

The Presidents of Armenia and Russia Serzh Sargsyan and Vladimir Putin have exchanged messages on the occasion of the 25^th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“This remarkable event marked the start of a new stage in the centuries-old Armenian-Russian relations of friendship, brotherhood and mutual support, and formed the ground for allied strategic partnership between Armenia and Russia,” President Sargsyan said in a message to his Russian counterpart.

“The relations between Armenia and Russia are on the highest level today, and stand out for active political dialogue, effective coordination of steps on bilateral, regional and global platforms, joint efforts to ensure peace and security in the South Caucasus,” President Sargsyan said.

“We have made important decisions on furthering joint projects in the economic, humanitarian and other domains. Russia and Armenia have made a significant contribution to the Eurasian integration process, reinforcement of cooperation within the framework of the CSTO, CIS and other structures,” he noted.

The President voiced confidence that the multifaceted Armenian-Russian relations would continue to deepen embracing new spheres of productive cooperation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said, in turn, that “we have managed to raise the Russian-Armenian relations to the high level of allied cooperation based on the long-standing traditions of friendship and mutual respect.”

“The political dialogue is developing dynamically, joint projects are being implemented in the economic, scientific-technical, humanitarian and other domains,” Putin said. He hailed the cooperation within Eurasian integration frameworks, coordination of efforts in fighting urgent threats and challenges to regional security.

Executive Secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States has said  Armenia’s parliamentary elections were held in accordance with democratic norms and without violations.

Armenia’s parliamentary elections were held in accordance with democratic norms and without violations, Executive Secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Sergei Lebedev told on Monday.

“The April 2 elections to the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia were held in accordance with the constitution, the electoral code and universally recognized democratic norms of holding elections,” Lebedev said.

Four political forces have passed the threshold to enter the Armenian legislature, with data frost polling stations processed, led by the ruling Republican Party with nearly 50 percent of the votes.

“We concluded that the elections were multiparty and competitive, free, transparent and open,” Lebedev, who leads the CIS observer mission, said.

Armenia and Russia have never been on the opposite sides of the barricades, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in an article published in Russian on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“Establishment of diplomatic relations opened a new page in the modern history of centuries-old relations between the brotherly peoples that have passed the test of time,” Minister Nalbandian said.

According to Armenia’s top diplomat, the two nations are tied by a number of deep threads, which form the ground, on which the relations between Armenia and Russia are being built.

“Today the Armenian-Russian allied strategic partnership is seen as an exemplary model of cooperation, one of the most successful and effective ones on post-Soviet space,” he said.

Minister Nalbandian said “Armenia appreciates Russia’s mediating efforts, including in its capacity as Minsk Group Co-Chair, in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.”

“It was thanks to Russia’s efforts that the agreement on ceasefire was signed between Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan and Armenia on May 12, 1994. This enabled us to step into the political phase of conflict resolution.  Despite Azerbaijan’s continuous efforts to wreck the implementation of the agreement, including the large-scale military actions unleashed last year, Armenia works in cooperation with Russia, the co-chairing countries continues to take efforts towards stabilization of the situation, creation of conditions for furthering the negotiation process with a view of solving the conflict exceptionally in a peaceful way,” Minister Nalbandian said.

American singer, actress, director and producer Barbara Streisand has joined The Promise film to #KeepThePromise to never forget.

“We are all children of immigrants. I’m Barbara Streisand I vow to keep the promise to never forget,” she says in a video shared on Facebook.

Set in 1914 right before the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the film follows Michael Boghosian (Oscar Isaac), a hopeful medical student who arrives in Constantinople to bring modern medicine to his ancestral village of Siroun in Southern Turkey. In the bustling capital, he soon meets Chris Myers (Christian Bale), an American photo-journalist, and Ana (Charlotte Le Bon), an Armenian artist. Both Michael and Chris soon fall in love with Ana and a love triangle ensues just as the Turks join the war on the German side, turning against the Armenians. Everyone must find a way to settle their differences in order to survive the coming chaos.

 

 

 

Results of e-voting will be the first to be announced after the polls close in Armenian parliamentary elections.

877 citizens of the Republic of Armenia – diplomats accredited to foreign countries and their families, as well as those on business visits and students – have participated in electronic voting.

Electronic voting was conducted beforehand. According to the Electoral Code, the e-voting starts nine days before the Election Day and ends 7 days prior to it. Thus, the voting took place between March 24 and 26.

The results will be summed up after polls close in Armenia. The final protocol will be prepared at the sitting of the Central Electoral Commission at 20:00.

Those participating in e-voting can chose between parties only with no voting through regional lists.