Kocharyan promises to ensure law ands order in Armenia

23.02.2008, 18.02

YEREVAN, February 23 (Itar-Tass) — Armenian President Robert Kocharyan
promised to take all measures to maintain law and order in the country.

He said so during a meeting with the senior officers of the Armenian
Armed Forces on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the radical opposition is holding protests and an open-ended
sit-in in the centre of the city and have set up tents in Freedom
Square in front of the Yerevan Opera Theatre.

The opposition insists that its candidate, Armenia’s first President
Levon Ter-Petrosyan won the February 19 presidential election in the
country and refused to recognise official preliminary results announced
by the Central Election Commission, according to which Prime Minister
Serzh Sarkisyan won the election.

According to preliminary data, Sarkisyan got 52.86 percent of votes
(863,544 electors) in the Armenian election held on February 19, Levon
Ter-Petrosyan got 21.5 percent (351,306 people) and Artur Bagdasaryan
16.6 percent (272,256 people). The final results will be made public
seven days after the election.