Agence France Presse — English
May 12, 2007 Saturday
Armenian opposition cries foul over election
by Mariam Harutunian
Armenians voted Saturday in parliamentary elections billed as a
litmus test for democracy but immediately denounced by a main
opposition party as fraudulent.
"I fear these elections were grossly falsified," said Tigran
Mkrtchian, a spokesman for the pro-Western Country of Law party, the
leading opposition party in opinion polls.
"This has been one of the worst elections possible," Mkrtchian said
of the polls in the impoverished ex-Soviet country, where no election
has been judged fair since independence followed the collapse of the
Soviet Union in 1991.
"We recorded widespread violations in many forms," he said. "Some
pro-government parties were giving bribes of between 4,000 and 20,000
drams (11-56 dollars/eight-41 euros) right in front of polling
stations."
Opposition parties had vowed to organize street demonstrations Sunday
to attempt to overturn the results if fraud was suspected.
Surveys show Armenians are hungry for reform, with an overwhelming
majority supporting radical change, but polls predicted
pro-government parties would come out ahead in the election.
Preliminary results are due Sunday.
Preliminary figures showed voter turnout at 57 percent, the Central
Elections Commission said after polls closed.
The vote was seen as a key test of democratic reform in the small,
mountainous republic wedged between Turkey and Iran.
Hundreds of local and international observers were monitoring the
vote, including more than 300 from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, which was to issue a report on the election
Sunday.
The vote was also a dress rehearsal for a presidential election next
year at the end of President Robert Kocharian’s second term.
Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, Kocharian’s chosen successor, is
expected to use the parliamentary vote as a springboard to launch his
presidential campaign.
More than 20 opposition parties were running and analysts say these
divisions scuttled chances of defeating two pro-government parties —
Sarkisian’s ruling Republican party and the Prosperous Armenia party
headed by millionaire former world arm wrestling champion Gagik
Tsarukian.
Outside a polling station in the capital Yerevan, Samvel Isabekian
said he had voted for Sarkisian, a former defence minister and
military leader in Nagorny Karabakh, a disputed region seized by
Armenia from neighbouring Azerbaijan in the early 1990s.
"I voted for the Republican party because it has the strongest leader
and our country needs a strong hand," said Isabekian, 23.
Speaking to journalists after marking his ballot, Kocharian said he
had voted "for the future of Armenia and for the continuation of
reforms in economic, social and other areas."
"I hope that a real opposition will be present in parliament, not an
opposition that represents the interests of foreign states," he
added, in reference to frequent claims that Armenian opposition
parties are acting on behalf of Western governments.
Sarkisian said the Republicans had "very high chances" of winning the
most votes and that there were no signs of falsification.
"I want this election to be, for our people and for observers, the
best in the history of independent Armenia," he said after voting.
US officials have said the provision of 235 million dollars (175
million euros) in aid to Armenia under the Millennium Challenge Fund
would be threatened if the vote is deemed unfair.
The European Union has warned that a democratic election is necessary
if Armenia wants to continue to participate in the European
Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) programme, under which the EU has pledged
to build stronger economic and political ties with the country.
Cuts in foreign assistance could be disastrous for Armenia, where
more than 30 percent of people live on less than two dollars (1.50
euros) a day.
About 2.3 million of Armenia’s three million people were registered
to vote in elections for 131 seats in the National Assembly.
Ninety of the parliament’s members will be elected from party lists,
while the remaining 41 seats will go to the winners of individual
mandates.