Interfax
Russia & CIS Presidential Bulletin
February 20, 2008

SARGSYAN WINS ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN FIRST ROUND – CEC

With all 100% of ballots processed, Armenian Prime Minister Serzh
Sargsyan has won the Armenian presidential elections in the first
round, winning 52.86% of votes, chairman of the Armenian Central
Elections Commission (CEC) Garegin Azarian said.

According to Article 51 of the Armenian Constitution, a candidate who
wins 50% plus one vote at an election becomes president, Azarian
said.

All 100% of ballots from 1,923 polling stations were processed,
Azarian told Interfax. A total of 1,670,656 people took part in the
election. A total of 34,849 ballots were invalidated.

Former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosian and Orinats Yerkir
party leader Artur Bagdasarian came next with 21.5% and 16.66%,
respectively. National Assembly Deputy Speaker and member of the
Dashnaktsutiun party bureau Vaan Ovannisian won 6.12%. Other
candidates won less than 2% of votes.

Nine candidates ran for the Armenian presidency at the February 19
election.

At the same time armenian opposition, including supporters of the
former president, Levon Ter-Petrosian, who remain discontent with the
results of the presidential election, have been staging protests in
Yerevan since noon.

They believe their candidate won the first round and did not muster
only 21% of the vote.

Nikol Pashinian of Ter-Petrosian’s campaign headquarters said at the
rally: "The process has begun, we expect a vast rally. Our supporters
are driving around the city and telling people. We are expecting
people from the regions."

"It would be a crime for us to leave the country in the hands of a
criminal regime," Pashinian said.

The Armenian authorities are taking necessary steps to maintain
security.

At once international election monitors from OSHR have found that the
Armenian elections have met with OSCE standards.

A statement by the OSHR mission was voiced in Yerevan on Wednesday by
Vice President of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly Anne-Marie Lizin, who heads a
short-term mission of OSCE PA election observers.

The statement says that Armenia’s electoral code is in need of
improvement and that the level of citizens’ trust in election
processes should be enhanced.

The Armenian presidential election, held on February 19, were
observed by the OSCE /ODIHR, a mission of the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS,) the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the CIS
Inter- Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe and the European Parliament.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress