Tweet
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT WINS SECOND TERM BY WIDE MARGIN
EurActiv, EU
Feb 19 2013
Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan won a second five-year term, the
Central Electoral Commission said on Tuesday (19 February).
Police said after polls closed on Monday that they had received 70
reports of voting violations, including bribery at polling stations,
and that they had opened two criminal investigations.
The president, 58, has vowed to improve the economy in his landlocked
South Caucasus country and said before the vote he would ensure
stability and security after years of war and upheaval, though he
outlined no big policy changes.
Sarksyan, like many of his generation, is a veteran of the
Nagorno-Karabakh war, and has accused neighbouring Azerbaijan of
threatening a new conflict. Baku denies it is the aggressor and says
Armenia should hand back control of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The continued peace of a region where pipelines take Caspian oil
and natural gas to Europe is a concern for foreign investors and
neighbours.
Preliminary results released by the Central Electoral Commission
showed Sarksyan had won 58.6% of the votes cast. His closest rival,
American-born Raffi Hovannisian, who served previously as foreign
minister, was winning nearly 37% of votes.
The opposition Heritage Party said that some ballots cast for
opposition parties had been thrown out, although there was no
indication whether it would challenge the vote, which passed without
any major violence.
Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for
Security and Co-operation in Europe said the election was peaceful
and generally well conducted.
"However, the limited field of candidates meant that the election was
not genuinely competitive," they said in a written statement. "The
candidates who did run were able to campaign in a free atmosphere and
to present their views to voters, but the campaign overall failed to
engage the public's interest."
The last presidential election, in 2008, was marred by clashes in which
10 people were killed, but there were no reports of violence this time.
EurActiv.com with Reuters
http://www.euractiv.com/europes-east/armenia-president-reelected-oppo-news-517926
EurActiv, EU
Feb 19 2013
Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan won a second five-year term, the
Central Electoral Commission said on Tuesday (19 February).
Police said after polls closed on Monday that they had received 70
reports of voting violations, including bribery at polling stations,
and that they had opened two criminal investigations.
The president, 58, has vowed to improve the economy in his landlocked
South Caucasus country and said before the vote he would ensure
stability and security after years of war and upheaval, though he
outlined no big policy changes.
Sarksyan, like many of his generation, is a veteran of the
Nagorno-Karabakh war, and has accused neighbouring Azerbaijan of
threatening a new conflict. Baku denies it is the aggressor and says
Armenia should hand back control of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The continued peace of a region where pipelines take Caspian oil
and natural gas to Europe is a concern for foreign investors and
neighbours.
Preliminary results released by the Central Electoral Commission
showed Sarksyan had won 58.6% of the votes cast. His closest rival,
American-born Raffi Hovannisian, who served previously as foreign
minister, was winning nearly 37% of votes.
The opposition Heritage Party said that some ballots cast for
opposition parties had been thrown out, although there was no
indication whether it would challenge the vote, which passed without
any major violence.
Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for
Security and Co-operation in Europe said the election was peaceful
and generally well conducted.
"However, the limited field of candidates meant that the election was
not genuinely competitive," they said in a written statement. "The
candidates who did run were able to campaign in a free atmosphere and
to present their views to voters, but the campaign overall failed to
engage the public's interest."
The last presidential election, in 2008, was marred by clashes in which
10 people were killed, but there were no reports of violence this time.
EurActiv.com with Reuters
http://www.euractiv.com/europes-east/armenia-president-reelected-oppo-news-517926