PRESS TV, Iran
Feb 20 2008

Armenian PM ahead of election rivals
Wed, 20 Feb 2008 02:11:30

Armenian Prime Minister, Serzh Sarkisian
Armenian preliminary election results have indicated Prime Minister
Serzh Sarkisian’s victory over his rivals by 57 percent of the votes.

With ballots from more than 10 percent of precincts counted,
Sarkisian had received 57 percent of the vote, the Central Election
Commission said on Tuesday.

His closest contender, former President Levon Ter-Petrosian won no
more than 17 and the Former parliament speaker, Orinats Erkir Artur
Bagdasarian, just 14 percent of the votes.

Meanwhile, the opposition leaders said the election day had been
marred by serious violations and warned of calling nationwide
protests against the election results.

According to the Central Elections Commission reports, seventy
percent of the Armenians turned out for the presidential elections.

Pre-election polls showed Sarkisian well ahead of his eight rivals in
the race to replace the long-serving Kocharian, who is
constitutionally barred from seeking a third five-year term.