The Associated Press
Feb 19 2008
Armenian PM Leads in Presidential Count
By MARIA DANILOVA – 1 hour ago
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – Early results in Armenia’s presidential
election Tuesday gave a strong lead to Prime Minister Serge
Sarkisian, officials said, but the tally suggested he might not be
able to avoid a runoff with his top challenger.
With 28 percent of ballots counted, Sarkisian had 42 percent of the
votes, the Central Election Commission said. Former President Levon
Ter-Petrosian, was second in the field of nine, with 11 percent. A
candidate needs more than 50 percent for an outright victory and
avoid a runoff.
Election officials were expected to continue counting ballots through
the night and full preliminary results were not expected before
Wednesday evening.
The contest was marred by allegations from Ter-Petrosian that
authorities had rigged the vote and harassed his supporters. He
asserted he was the real victor and urged supporters to rally in the
capital Wednesday to protest the vote count.
The allegations of fraud and threats of mass protests raised concerns
over instability in the volatile country at the juncture of the
energy-rich Caspian Sea region and southern Europe and bordering
Iran.
Sarkisian and Ter-Petrosian – Armenia’s first president after the
Soviet collapse – were the two top contenders among nine contenders
vying to lead the South Caucasus nation, where more than a quarter of
its 3.2 million people live in poverty despite some economic progress
in recent years.
Tension with Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region was
one of the main issues of the campaign. Armenia’s government says the
mostly ethnic Armenian territory should be recognized as a sovereign
state, while Azerbaijan says it will never give the region up.
Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia on Sunday added an
element of uncertainty for Armenians, many of whom see clear
analogies between Kosovo and Nagorno-Karabakh – a mountainous region
in Azerbaijan that has been under the control of ethnic Armenian
forces since a 1994 cease-fire ended a bloody six-year conflict.
The two presidential candidates differ on how to handle
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Sarkisian, a native of the region, appears less likely to compromise
than Ter-Petrosian, who was forced to resign as president in 1998
after advocating concessions in the dispute.