Published since 1951
Published on February 20, 2008
SARKISIAN DECLARED ELECTION WINNER
- Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian was declared on Wednesday the winner of Armenia’s presidential election which President Robert Kocharian hailed as “free and fair,” but his two main challengers refused to concede defeat, alleging serious fraud. According to the full preliminary vote results released by the Central Election Commission (CEC), Sarkisian won 52.8 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a run-off with one of the opposition candidates. Former President Levon Ter-Petrosian came in a distant second with 21.5 percent, followed by another opposition leader, Artur Baghdasarian, who got 16.7 percent. Another major candidate, Vahan Hovannisian of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), finished fourth with only 6.1 percent, the CEC said. The vote results were approved in the morning by six of the eight members of the CEC, including Dashnaktsutyun’s representative Hamlet Abrahamian. The two other commission members representing the opposition Zharangutyun and Orinats Yerkir parties rejected the figures as fraudulent and boycotted the CEC meeting in protest. Under Armenian law, the CEC has to release the final election results by February 26. In a written address to the nation, President Robert Kocharian welcomed Sarkisian’s landslide victory and said the presidential ballot was “free and fair.” “It was an important test for the strengthening democracy in our country,” Kocharian said. He expressed confidence that Sarkisian, his longtime close associate, will “consolidate the society” and create “an atmosphere of tolerance and mutual understanding” as head of state. Ter-Petrosian rejected the official vote tally, saying that the ballot was rigged and must be re-run. “Taking into account widespread falsifications and violence, which totally distorted the expression of the people’s will, the campaign team of Levon Ter-Petrosian does not recognize the official results of the elections published by the CEC and demands the holding of a new election,” it said in a statement made public at a rally in Yerevan. A statement by Baghdasarian’s Orinats Yerkir likewise alleged that Tuesday’s voting was accompanied by “numerous falsifications” and the intimidation of opposition proxies by government loyalists. The party demanded the authorities “reconsider” the published vote results and recount ballots in more than 200 polling stations. By contrast, Hovannisian and his party, which is a junior partner in Armenia’s governing coalition, conceded defeat, even if it stopped short of calling the vote free and fair. “One thing is clear: we have lost,” Hrant Markarian, another Dashnaktsutyun leader, told RFE/RL. “I can’t say to what extent that reflects the will of the people, to what extent that was the result of fraud. In any case, our organization is able to overcome such difficulties.” Markarian said Dashnaktsutyun is not examining fraud reports received from polling stations across Armenia and may challenge official results there. Meanwhile, Sarkisian reportedly received late Wednesday the first congratulations from foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Georgia’s Mikheil Saakashavili. Sarkisian and his allies also celebrated his victory with a firework outside the headquarters of his Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). HHK sources said Kocharian was also in attendance. (Photolur photo)
- By Karine Kalantarian and Anna Saghabalian
Headlines for February 20, 2008
SARKISIAN DECLARED ELECTION WINNER
By Karine Kalantarian and Anna SaghabalianPrime Minister Serzh Sarkisian was declared on Wednesday the winner of Armenia’s presidential election which President Robert Kocharian hailed as “free and fair,” but his two main challengers refused ...TER-PETROSIAN CLAIMS VICTORY, RALLIES THOUSANDS IN YEREVAN
By Hovannes Shoghikian, Ruzanna Stepanian and Astghik Bedevian
Former President Levon Ter-Petrosian claimed to be the rightful winner of the Armenian presidential election and vowed to “fight till the end” on Wednesday as tens of thousands of his supporters demonstrated ...ARMENIAN VOTE 'LARGELY DEMOCRATIC'
By Emil Danielyan
International observers made a largely positive assessment of the Armenian presidential election on Wednesday, while reporting serious problems during the counting of ballots and noting a continuing lack ...
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Today in Armenian history- 1728 Death of General Davit Bek.
- 1862 Defense of Van against Turkish exactions and terrorism.
- 1904 Birth of Abraham Alikhanov in Tbilisi (Georgia). He became a physicist and an academician of the USSR. In 1940, he organized the first expedition to Mount Elbrus to explore Cosmic Rays. He made many basic discoveries in this area.
- 1908 Inauguration of the Ulukhanlu-Julfa railroad.
- 1936 Death of Alexander Tamanyan (architect) in Yerevan. He was born in 1878.
- 1940 Death of public figure Stepan Yessayan. He was one of the founders of "Pan-National" Cultural Organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Party.
- 1988 The Autonomous Region (oblast) of Nagorno Gharabagh applies to the Supreme Soviets of Armenia, Azerbaijan and the USSR to consider and resolve positively the question of handing over Nagorno Karabagh from Soviet Azerbaijan to Soviet Armenia.
- 1988 The Regional Council of Deputies from Artsakh decides to be reintegrated with Armenia.
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