Agence France Presse — English
May 13, 2007 Sunday 7:52 AM GMT
Armenian opposition vows protests as ruling party tops poll
by Mariam Haratuninan
Armenian opposition parties vowed to launch protests Sunday after
preliminary results showed the ruling Republicans and other
pro-government parties sweeping parliamentary elections.
Opposition parties denounced the vote, seen as a key test for
Armenian democracy, as deeply flawed.
"We do not recognize the election and we are now taking the next
important step in our struggle," said Nicol Pashinian, a leader of
the Impeachment bloc, adding that protests would begin Sunday
afternoon.
Pashinian’s bloc is one of numerous opposition forces unlikely to
cross the five-percent threshold of votes required to enter
parliament, preliminary results showed.
Simultaneous with the planned start of demonstrations, observers from
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were to give
their findings on whether the election met international standards.
Western governments have put intense pressure on Armenia to improve
on previous elections. The United States has threatened major cuts in
foreign aid while the European Union has warned of a rollback in
relations with Yerevan.
The two opposition parties expected to win the most votes — the
Country of Law party of former parliamentary speaker Artur
Baghdasarian and the Heritage party of US-born former foreign
minister Raffi Hovannisian — said they would wait for observers to
report before announcing if they would join protests.
This small country wedged between Turkey and Iran has yet to hold an
election judged free and fair since it became independent with the
collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Cuts in foreign aid could be disastrous for Armenia, where more than
30 percent of people already live on less than two dollars (1.50
euros) a day.
Observers noted improvements in the run-up to the vote, saying the
government had granted the opposition wide access to voters.
But the opposition claims violations were rife on election day,
including instances of pro-government parties bribing voters outside
polling stations.
The Central Elections Commission said there were no major violations.
Preliminary figures showed voter turnout at 59.4 percent.
Results from 1,638 out of 1,923 polling stations showed the
Republican party of Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian far ahead with 34
percent of the vote, the elections commission said Sunday.
Sarkisian, President Robert Kocharian’s chosen successor, is expected
to use the election as a springboard to launch his campaign for the
presidency at the end of Kocharian’s second term next year.
The pro-government Prosperous Armenia party of millionaire former
world arm wrestling champion Gagik Tsarukian had 15 percent of the
vote. It was followed by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, a
member of the former ruling coalition, with 13 percent.
Anti-government parties trailed far behind. The Country of Law party
had 6.9 percent, followed by the Heritage party with 3.6 percent.
About 1.3 million of Armenia’s 2.3 million registered voters took
part in the vote for 131 seats in parliament.
Opinion polls show Armenians are hungry for reform, with most
supporting radical change, but analysts said deep divisions in the
opposition and widespread apathy were likely to hand victory to
pro-government parties.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
