ARMENIAN OPPOSITION CLAIMS ELECTION RETURNS NULL AND VOID

ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 18, 2007 Friday 04:14 PM EST

Armenia’s political opposition insists that official returns from
last Saturday’s parliamentary election should be declared null and
void and a new round of voting should be appointed, Nikol Pashinian,
the leader of the Impeachment oppositionist electoral bloc said Friday.

He took part in a meeting of the opposition in downtown Yerevan.

Police say the action brought together 2,000 people but opposition
leaders put the attendance at 15,000.

"The process of uniting of the opposition has begun," Pashinian
said, adding that several parties plan to file a petition with the
Constitution Court to declare the election invalid.

Another leading oppositionist, Aram Sarkissian of the Republic party
said public actions of the opposition will become permanent. Like
the Impeachment bloc, his party did not get seats in parliament either.

Sarkissian said, however, it was unlikely that the Constitution Court
might pass a ruling in favor of the opposition.

However, opponents of the authorities will prove correctness of their
claims in the courtroom and will exposure numerous infractions in
the course of voting, he warned.

In the meantime, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer believes
the election was held in compliance with norms of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe.

The European Union’s external policy commissioner Javier Solana
congratulated the people of Armenia on considerable progres in the
election process.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress