The News, Australia
Feb 17 2008

Masses rally to support comeback bid

>From correspondents in Yerevan
February 17, 2008 03:49am

TENS of thousands of Armenians rallied in the capital Yerevan to
support Levon Ter-Petrosian’s bid to regain the presidency ahead of
Tuesday’s vote.

In the largest rally in Yerevan in years, at least 50,000
demonstrators flooded a central square. Organisers claimed some
300,000 people took part.

Ter-Petrosian – one of eight opposition candidates running in
Tuesday’s elections – has accused authorities of preparing to rig the
vote in favour of President Robert Kocharian’s chosen successor,
53-year-old Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian.

"No one can stay home on February 19. If masses of people go to vote,
the chances of falsification will be reduced," Ter-Petrosian told the
crowd. "The people have already won and on February 19 we will only
confirm this victory."

The former president was forced to resign during his second term in
1998 for advocating concessions with neighbouring Azerbaijan over the
Armenia-backed rebel region of Nagorny Karabakh. He broke nearly 10
years of silence last fall to announce his bid for the presidency.

Polls show him with between 10 and 15 per cent support among decided
voters, far behind Sarkisian, who hovers at about 50 per cent
support.

After two five-year terms, Kocharian is constitutionally barred from
running again.