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The Armenian Weekly; Volume 74, No. 7; Feb. 23, 2008
News:
1. Sarkisian Wins Armenian Presidency
By Christian Garbis
2. ARF Expresses Reservations, Will Issue Statement
***
1. Sarkisian Wins Armenian Presidency
By Christian Garbis
YEREVAN-On Tues., Feb. 19, Armenians cast their votes in the fifth
Presidential elections held since the nation declared independence in 1991.
Nine candidates were vying for power, but in the end Prime Minister Serge
Sarkisian was the clear winner.
The tallies as of 7 a.m. Wednesday showed that Sarkisian won in a landslide
victory earning 812,492 votes, with only 3,622 inaccuracies counted. That
number changed by noontime to 863,544, with a winning 51.7 percent of votes
for Sarkisian .
Percentages of votes earned for candidates varied as official numbers were
being revealed. By 4 a.m. on Wednesday, the Central Election Commission of
Armenia (CEC) claimed that Sarkisian , the leader of the Republican party,
was ahead with 55.7 percent votes attested for, with main opposition
challenger and Armenia’s first president Levon Ter-Petrossian winning 18.9
percent of votes.
Yet, at nearly the same time BBC News reported that Sarkisian earned 52.7
percent of votes while Ter-Petrossian earned 21.5 percent based on 97.5
percent of ballots counted.
Just before midnight, as ballots were still being counted, Reuters reported
that Sarkisian was the definite winner, with 782,233 of votes
earned-approximately 56 percent of total ballots collected.
The CEC also revealed Wednesday that Orinats Yerkir party leader Artur
Baghdasaryan earned 16.4 percent of cast ballots, numbering 272,256, and the
ARF-Dashnaktsutiun’s candidate Vahan Hovhannesian claimed 6 percent, or
100,876 ballots. Each of the remaining candidates, excluding former defense
and Prime Minister Vazgen Manukyan who won a meager 1.2 percent of votes,
earned less than one percent of counted ballots.
Ter-Petrossian ended up with a second place vote count of 351,306, or 21
percent.
People actively participated in the elections, appearing at polling stations
in substantial numbers. Local observers at polling stations were unanimous
in their conclusions that the turnout was higher than was ever noticed at
previous elections. According to the CEC, an estimated 57 percent of the 2.3
million registered voters cast their ballots by 5 p.m., which increased to
69.25 percent (1,641,672) by 9 p.m.
At the Polling Stations: Beatings and Bribes
"I hope that the people in two days will say that finally there was justice
served. And that also those whose candidate was not elected will conclude
that the elections were fair," said Hovhannesian to television news
reporters after he cast his vote.
At few polling stations clearly legible informational posters were affixed
to walls instructing people on the entire voting process. Some also had
short information on all of the eligible candidates on hand to assist
undecided voters. After a ballot was cast, the passport of the voter was
stamped with a unique mark indicating that he or she voted. Schools mainly
served as the locations for voting stations.
There were reports of beatings and bribing from across the country in the
regions outside the nation’s capital. Those who were allegedly beaten were
for the most part local observers at voting stations who were prepared to
file complaints of vote rigging.
Bribes were purportedly being handed out by Republican party supporters in
the amount of 5,000 dram (approximately $16) to people on their way to
voting stations in several areas. In villages lining the plains of Ararat,
such as Vosketab and Pokr Vedi, the atmosphere at polling stations was
civil, but one eyewitness told of bribes being distributed to potential
voters. Similar incidents were reported to have occurred in Gyumri as well
as Dilijan, a resort town located in the Tavush region.
In Vanadzor, Armenia’s third largest city located in the Lori region,
according to one resident some voters who were paid 5,000 dram each to vote
for Sarkisian ended up casting a ballot for Ter-Petrossian.
Orinats Yerkir, having set up a hotline for reporting violations, registered
several incidents of violence and bribery. The ARF-Dashnaktsutiun would not
comment on any violations that may have been perceived on Election Day.
At polling stations throughout Yerevan’s Gentron and Arabkir districts there
were no apparent incidents of unrest. Many polling stations were packed with
voters at late morning and early afternoon. At most stations, voters were
required to wait in single file outside the entrance and were allowed to
enter separately to cast their ballots, while at other locations people were
permitted to enter the buildings freely, attracting loiterers.
One accusation from an irate woman was made of multiple ballots being cast
by a single voter at a Yerevan voting station as reported by Yerkir Media.
She was shown on television to have been escorted out of the voting station
after having announced her complaint to observers. Her claims were
immediately dismissed by the observer and other witnesses at the scene.
The news service RFE/RL reported incidents of carousel voting in the
Malatia-Sebastia district of Yerevan, whereby a single stolen ballot is
marked with a vote for a specific candidate and given to a voter along with
a bribe to thereby be cast.
The fresh ballot that the voter receives after registering with the local
election commission is taken out of the polling station, then given to the
bribe distributor to start the process over again. This process of vote
falsification was known to have occurred as far back as the 1998
presidential elections.
Reports of beatings occurring in Yerevan were issued throughout the day and
evening having occurred in such districts as Erebuni, Davitashen and Avan,
where two Ter-Petrossian activists were purportedly kidnapped by people
close to Ruben Hayrapetian, a pro-government parliament member. Incidents of
violence were widely reported by Hetq Online as well as Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). The latter news service in particular
dubiously reported on Feb. 19 that the election "proved to be one of the
most violent in the country’s history."
In Yerevan’s southern Erebuni district at polling stations 13/34 and 13/35
(located in a grammar school adjacent to the history museum there), dozens
of voters waited impatiently in line and four police officers were present
to calm the uneasy crowds, with other officers on hand. Over 20 men wearing
mostly black were seen loitering outside along the street for no apparent
reason. Several minibuses were parked outside, as people had been
transported specifically to cast their ballots. Such scenarios took place
throughout the day at various locations as reported by local news services.
Another incident in Erebuni involved a reporter, Lusine Barseghyan from
Haykakan Zhamanak, a pro-Ter-Petrossian daily newspaper, who was severely
beaten after attempting to investigate a complaint of ballots being
confiscated by the local election commission representative there, as
reported by A1 Plus.
Erebuni has traditionally been an area of unrest during election time;
similar problems were reported during the parliamentary elections held last
May.
Despite the fact that approximately 620 foreign observers including 400
representing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
were sent to Armenia to monitor the elections, their presence was not made
obvious at several polling stations throughout Yerevan. The observers were
expected to visit approximately 80 percent of all voting stations throughout
Armenia, appearing unexpectedly at random times. The CEC registered 13,428
election observers from 6 foreign and 39 local organizations.
The opening of ballot boxes and counting of votes in some places was
televised by Armenia TV’s news program shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m.
A seemingly random polling station in Armenia’s southernmost region, Syunik,
was chosen at around 8:40 p.m., with the marked number corresponding for
each candidate read aloud. The number 8 was the one announced the most often
in rapid succession, which identified Serge Sarkisian on the ballot. But
votes made for Artur Baghdasaryan, represented by the number 1, were not few
and far between. Armenia TV televised several instances of ballots being
newly counted during live broadcasts.
Levon and Serge
Former president Ter-Petrossian was widely regarded by the press and some
opposition forces as being the only viable contender to Serge Sarkisian,
having earned the support long before the official campaign season kicked
off in mid-January from two key politicians, namely Aram Sarkisian of the
Republic party and Stepan Demirchian of the People’s Party.
Demirchian himself was the main opponent of President Robert Kocharian
during the hotly contested 2003 presidential elections. Although
Ter-Petrossian managed to attract thousands of supporters at each of his
rallies, he was clearly not able to attract undecided voters. Baghdasaryan
received harsh criticism from Ter-Petrossian, accusing him of being a
traitor for not joining his campaign in the final days before the elections.
Ter-Petrossian even chastised other political parties, such as his bitter
archrival the ARF-Dashnaktsutiun, citing similar reasons, much to the dismay
of its leaders.
For several years Sarkisian served as Armenia’s defense minister under the
Kocharian administration until he was appointed to his current position
shortly after then-Prime Minister Antranik Markarian’s death in April 2007.
Only months before his appointment, Sarkisian had joined Markarian’s
governing Republican party without having been affiliated with any other
political organization before that. At the time he joined the Republicans it
was believed that he was preparing for a presidential bid and required the
backing of what is commonly considered the most influential political party
in Armenia. Sarkisian is rumored to have interests in several large-scale
businesses and is speculated to have control over nearly all gasoline
imports entering Armenia.
Sarkisian is also arguably one of the most feared men in the country.
Psychological intimidation of citizens is not rare, and hearing the phrase
"Things will be bad under Serge" or "Serge is no good" uttered from people’s
lips in quiet confidence is commonplace.
Shortly after the preliminary results were in after 11 p.m. most news
broadcasts covering the elections stopped, with the exception of Shant
broadcasting corporation, which provided up-to-date results well into the
early morning hours as reported by staff journalists stationed in regions
across Armenia. In Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city situated in the
Shirak region north of the capital, Baghdasaryan took 32 percent of the
votes while Sarkisian took 44 percent as of 1:20 a.m. Wednesday morning,
according to Shant.
Despite Sarkisian’s obvious lead, there were no victory speeches given after
the preliminary results were released by the CEC Tuesday night. The streets
of the central part of Yerevan were completely calm with no celebrations or
protests to be heard.
On Wednesday morning, soon after the dawn of a new president elect, it was
business as usual for Yerevan’s residents. Citizens were off to work and
students rushed to class, with virtually no signs of unrest on the streets.
Later in the day, a victory rally scheduled to be held at 3 p.m. at the
Opera House for Sarkisian was cancelled so that his supporters would not
possibly clash with those backing Ter-Petrossian at his own rally just up
the street. There were no signs of jubilation in the city’s capital during
the afternoon in support for Sarkisian.
Corruption and unemployment are arguably the two main issues that plague the
majority of Armenian citizens. Yet, just how Sarkisian as president plans to
tackle those problems facing hundreds of thousands of Armenians remains to
be seen. Given that Sarkisian has been a prominent player in the current
regime and its accepted policies, with country leaders seemingly placing
their own business interests over those of the people, expectations that
things will change under his reign are not high.
"I don’t think that any of the current candidates will be able to do really
anything for the Republic," stated Hovhanness Boloyan, 28, of Yerevan. "And
particularly with Serge-he is corrupted himself so I don’t believe that he
would attempt to really change something, to have a democratic and
non-corrupted society."
Opposition Holds Rally
Supporters of Levon Ter-Petrossian assembled across the 300 meter-long
stretch of Mashdots Avenue to the foot of the Matenadaran, the national
archives building in central Yerevan. Pro-Ter-Petrossian forces were heard
trying to incite enthusiasm from the countless thousands of people who cared
to attend, mainly out of curiosity. Chants of "Levon!" and "Victory!" were
heard frequently during the event to a crowd standing around idly while
munching sunflower seeds.
The event was led by Nikol Pashinian, editor-in-chief of the
pro-Ter-Petrossian daily newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak, who, tried as he
might, was not able to gather much enthusiasm from the attendees, despite
frequent reminders that Serge Sarkisian could not be allowed to take hold of
the presidency. Police presence was minimal with no riot police waiting in
the wings. Towards the end of the nearly two-hour program, Levon
Ter-Petrossian finally spoke briefly after several others had their say,
including Aram Sarkisian, one of his main supporters in the race. The
message was clear-the Armenian presidential elections were falsified and the
opposition bloc that was led by Ter-Petrossian was ready to accomplish
whatever necessary to demand justice. Nevertheless, not very many in the
crowd showed their undying willingness to continue the fight.
The opposition crowd was apparently still united in one form or other in
central Yerevan through the early evening on Wednesday. As of this report’s
filing, there were no apparent incidents of unrest.
Observers: Election ‘Mostly’ in Line With Standards
On Feb. 20, the international vote monitoring mission in Armenia released a
statement considering the election "mostly in line with OSCE and Council of
Europe commitments and standards." According to the report, only few
irregularities were reported by the 400 observers monitoring the
presidential election. However, "further improvements and commensurate
political will are required to address remaining challenges such as: the
absence of a clear separation between State and party functions, the lack of
public confidence in the electoral process and ensuring equal treatment of
election contestants."
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2. ARF Expresses Reservations, Will Issue Statement
YEREVAN-On Feb. 20, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Karabakh
movement, members of the ARF Bureau, the ARF Supreme Body of Armenia and the
ARF bloc in the National Assembly visited Yeraplour and laid wreaths at the
memorial dedicated to martyrs of the Karabakh liberation war, reported
Yerkir.
ARF Bureau representative Hrant Markaryan told reporters that the party
would soon issue a statement on the Presidential elections. He also
expressed hope that there would not be any attempts to destabilize the
country. Markaryan noted that the ARF has some serious reservations
regarding what transpired in several electoral districts. He also noted that
bribery was widespread.
Talking about the small percentage of votes that ARF candidate Vahan
Hovhannesian received, Markaryan said, "One thing is evident: We have lost
the elections. I cannot say if this loss is due to the will of the people or
to election rigging." He noted that the party is trying to objectively
assess the situation and come out with conclusions. "But our organization is
capable of surmounting these difficulties," he concluded.