Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
Feb 21 2008

Armenia: Sarkisian Poll Triumph Challenged

Opposition promises mass protests after official candidate declared
president.

By Rita Karapetian in Yerevan (CRS No. 432 20-Feb-08)

The official results in Armenia’s presidential elections show a
first-round victory for Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, but the
opposition is crying foul and calling protests to contest the
verdict.

Figures, released by the central electoral commission, show Sarkisian
having received almost 53 per cent of the vote, with his main rival
former President Levon Ter-Petrosian picking up 21.5 per cent. Former
speaker of parliament Artur Baghdasarian was awarded 12 per cent of
the vote, with the other six candidates far behind.

Outgoing president and fellow Karabakh Armenian Robert Kocharian, a
close associate of Sarkisian’s for more than 20 years, was quick to
congratulate Sarkisian on his victory and made a call for unity.

`It’s important that in the period after the elections every citizen
of Armenia is aware that the president of the republic cannot divide
society into `us’ and `them’,’ said Kocharian. `I am sure that Serzh
Sarkisian, elected to the post of president, can unite society and
create an atmosphere of mutual understanding and tolerance.’

However, on February 20, the opposition, which disputed the results
organised a rally and mass march through the streets of Yerevan. Tens
of thousands of demonstrators filled the whole of the city’s main
avenue, Mashtots, chanting `fight, fight to the end’, `Levon is
president’, and `Serzhik, leave!’ as they walked through the city to
the central electoral commission. Some stayed on Yerevan’s Freedom
Square into the evening.

The electoral commission said that around 70 per cent of voters – or
1,670,000 of an electorate of 2,230,000 – had cast their ballots.

Ter-Petrosian told his supporters that according to his calculations
the number of people who had voted was actually 1.1 million and that
a lot of false ballot papers had been put in boxes.

`Our fight will not stop till our final victory,’ said Nikol
Pashinian, one of Ter-Petrosian’s campaign team. `We will never
surrender the Republic of Armenia and we will not give our children
up to the jackals of Kocharian and Serzh.’

Differing exit-polls clouded the waters. One by the British firm,
Populus, was close to the official result, giving Sarkisian 57 per
cent and Ter-Petrosian 17 per cent. However, critics pointed out that
the exit poll was commissioned by the pro-government Public
Television and the data came from the pro-government Armenian
Sociological Association.

Another poll, by the non-governmental organisation Alliance, gave
Ter-Petrosian 38 per cent of the vote and Sarkisian 35 per cent. A
third poll by the organisation Alfa GA said that Ter-Petrosian had
won – but the Armenian justice ministry said Alfa GA was not a
registered organisation.

With such a lot at stake, everyone was keen to hear the verdict of
the 600 international observers who, along with local observers, were
monitoring the poll. They basically backed the official results.
The joint observer mission from the Council of Europe and
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe said in a
statement that the conduct of the election was `mostly in line with
the country’s international commitments, although further
improvements are necessary’.
`Compared to the previous presidential elections, significant
progress was noted with regard to the preparation and conduct of the
electoral process," said Marie Anne Isler, head of the European
parliament contingent within the OSCE mission.

This was an unusually bitter election which culminated in violent
incidents and clashes on February 19, polling day.

Supporters of the opposition registered complaints about voters being
bribed, people voting twice and ballot-stuffing. There were several
reports that opposition proxies – sent to represent their candidates
at polling stations – had been beaten up.

Member of parliament Armen Martirosian and Lusine Barsegian, a
correspondent for the opposition newspaper Haikakak Zhamanak, said
they were beaten at a polling station in the district of Erebuni,
where they were recording alleged falsifications. Barsegian said her
camera and dictaphone were seized from her.

The prime minister’s campaign headquarters declared that these
incidents had been staged by Ter-Petrosian’s supporters in order to
discredit their candidate. Sarkisian’s spokesman Edvard Sharmazanov
told IWPR that Ter-Petrosian’s campaign was arranging for its own
proxies to be beaten and then relaying this information to friendly
media outlets. `The aim is clear, to cast a shadow on the elections,’
he said.

General prosecutor’s office press secretary Sonya Truzian said that
20 complaints had been received about violations and seven criminal
charges had been opened, but that most of the violations had been
committed by supporters of Ter-Petrosian.

The Orinats Yerkir party of third-placed candidate Artur Baghdasarian
issued a statement calling for a recount in more than 200 polling
stations where falsifications had been alleged.

`We declare that attempts to prevent a review of the final results of
the elections with violations of the constitution and law of the
Republic of Armenia carry a danger of public disorder,’ said the
opposition party.

Rita Karapetian is a correspondent with Noyan Tapan news agency in
Yerevan.