Xinhua, China
Feb 19 2008

Feature: Armenians enthusiastic about presidential elections

2008-02-20 00:50:20
By Liu Yifang

YEREVAN, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) — Armenians on Tuesday crowded into
polling stations and queued to cast votes to choose the country’s new
president from nine candidates.

As early as 6:45 a.m. local time (0245 GMT), an hour and a
quarter earlier than the official opening time, working staff at a
polling station in the No. 24 school in downtown Yerevan began their
preparations. Several voters waited quietly in the room.

In the street outside the school, a big orange plastic board
emblazoned with "9/11" was noticeable, indicating the 9th electoral
district and the 11th polling station.

Voters could find their numbers on the list posted on the right
side of the glass wall. On the left side was a poster with photos and
brief profiles of the nine rivals in the Armenian language.

The quiet inside the room was broken by reporters. Dozens of
cameramen, photographers and other journalists crowded into the small
room and waited. Outgoing President Robert Kocharian and two
frontrunners, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and former President
Levon Ter-Petrosyan, were expected to cast their ballots here.

As time passed, more and more voters came and formed a queue in
front of the polling station.

Vanran Guroglyan took his 9-year-old son along and let his little
boy do the last step for him — inserting the folded ballot paper
into the box. "It’s an important day in Armenia, I’d like my son to
experience it," he said.

A 62-year-old woman who gave her name as Aida told Xinhua that
her family has six eligible voters who support different candidates.
Another elderly lady, Armaya, said she and her son both voted for the
prime minister "because he is the best choice."

"We have made our choice for a long time. I get to know my
favorite from the TV and newspapers, but it’s a secret and I’ll not
tell anybody," a girl said on condition of anonymity when walking out
of the polling room, adding that "my ballot is very important."

However, some people do not care that much about the elections."I
haven’t decided yet. It’s the same to me no matter who is elected
because I don’t trust anybody," Susan, a hotel receptionist, said at
her work place in the morning.

"Until now everything is normal, but I’ll continue to keep an eye
on it," Salik Tonoyan, an observer at the No. 11 station, told Xinhua
at noon.

At another polling station in the Chekhov English Specialized
School in the north of the city, dozens of people were waiting
outside in clear but cold weather.

"Why we are waiting here? We believe that everything will be
good," said Grigor, a Ter-Petrosyan supporter who moved back from
abroad 10 years ago. "Levon will bring us change."

Kristina Gevorkyan, an Armenian-Georgian from the observation
group "Against Violation of Law," was carefully counting voters while
they entered the room.

"We are here to see whether it’s smooth and transparent. I came
before 8 a.m., and after the polling station is closed at 8 p.m., we
will stay until ballot counting is finished," she said.

At the nearby No. 22 polling station, a bit smaller than the
others, the ballot box was one-third full by 3 p.m. and voters were
still trickling in to cast ballots.

"Voters are very active. People came early in the morning and you
can see how many people are still waiting outside," a regional
electoral official said.

Editor: Mu Xuequan