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HOVANNISIAN CHALLENGES SARKISIAN ON 'TRANSITION OF POWER'
http://asbarez.com/108360/hovannisian-challenges-sarkisian-for-%E2%80%98transition-of-power%E2%80%99/
Tuesday, February 19th, 2013
Yerevan residents flock to a post-election rally organized by Raffi
Hovannisian
YEREVAN (Combined Sources) - Heritage Party Presidential Candidate
Raffi Hovannisian, at a press conference and rally held at Liberty
Square Tuesday, called Monday's presidential elections a "victory for
the people" and urged President Serzh Sarkisian to meet with him by
5 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the peaceful transition of power.
"I am already the elected president of the Republic of Armenia," he
told supporters at the Liberty Square rally. "I want to come here
tomorrow at 5 p.m. and report to you that I met with Mr. Sakisian
and that he had the strength, manliness ... to say that the Armenian
people won and congratulate them."
Hovannisian and campaign representatives declined to state what course
of action they would take should Sarkisian refuse the meeting.
Armenia's Central Election Commission reported that Sarkisian secured
58.6 percent of the vote to win the election with Hovannisian coming
in second with 36.8 percent. Early results put former prime minister
Hrant Bagratian in third place with 2.2 percent of the votes. The
remaining four candidates Paruir Hayrikian, Andrias Ghukasyan, Vardan
Sedrakyan and Armen Melikyan each received less than two percent of
the votes, according to the preliminary reports. According to the CEC,
60 percent of eligible voters took part in Monday's election.
Hovannisian campaign spokesperson Hovsep Khurshudyan disputed the
results, telling reporters that the results from 21 of 42 polling
stations sampled had different results than those reported by the CEC.
"We had 27,902 votes at the polling stations, with 19,057 votes or 68%
cast for Raffi Hovannisian, and 32% for Serzh Sargsyan. We can get
the results with difficulties. All the election commission chairmen
were ordered not to provide information from the polling stations
where Raffi Hovannisian is winning," Khurshudyan stated.
A preliminary findings report by election observers representing the
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR),
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the
European Parliament (EP) noted marked improvements in electoral
practices, but documented a number of shortcomings. "Overall, the
election was administered in a professional manner and real efforts
were made by the authorities to improve the quality of the voter
lists. The media covered all candidates in a rather balanced manner,
but that coverage would have benefitted from more critical analysis
and debates between candidates," said Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini, the
Head of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
(OSCE/ODIHR) long-term election observation mission. "Unfortunately,
the blurring of the distinction between the State and the ruling
party continues to be an issue. This was demonstrated in the misuse
of administrative resources, pressure on voters, and a lack of
impartiality on the part of the public administration."
From: A. Papazian
http://asbarez.com/108360/hovannisian-challenges-sarkisian-for-%E2%80%98transition-of-power%E2%80%99/
Tuesday, February 19th, 2013
Yerevan residents flock to a post-election rally organized by Raffi
Hovannisian
YEREVAN (Combined Sources) - Heritage Party Presidential Candidate
Raffi Hovannisian, at a press conference and rally held at Liberty
Square Tuesday, called Monday's presidential elections a "victory for
the people" and urged President Serzh Sarkisian to meet with him by
5 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the peaceful transition of power.
"I am already the elected president of the Republic of Armenia," he
told supporters at the Liberty Square rally. "I want to come here
tomorrow at 5 p.m. and report to you that I met with Mr. Sakisian
and that he had the strength, manliness ... to say that the Armenian
people won and congratulate them."
Hovannisian and campaign representatives declined to state what course
of action they would take should Sarkisian refuse the meeting.
Armenia's Central Election Commission reported that Sarkisian secured
58.6 percent of the vote to win the election with Hovannisian coming
in second with 36.8 percent. Early results put former prime minister
Hrant Bagratian in third place with 2.2 percent of the votes. The
remaining four candidates Paruir Hayrikian, Andrias Ghukasyan, Vardan
Sedrakyan and Armen Melikyan each received less than two percent of
the votes, according to the preliminary reports. According to the CEC,
60 percent of eligible voters took part in Monday's election.
Hovannisian campaign spokesperson Hovsep Khurshudyan disputed the
results, telling reporters that the results from 21 of 42 polling
stations sampled had different results than those reported by the CEC.
"We had 27,902 votes at the polling stations, with 19,057 votes or 68%
cast for Raffi Hovannisian, and 32% for Serzh Sargsyan. We can get
the results with difficulties. All the election commission chairmen
were ordered not to provide information from the polling stations
where Raffi Hovannisian is winning," Khurshudyan stated.
A preliminary findings report by election observers representing the
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR),
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the
European Parliament (EP) noted marked improvements in electoral
practices, but documented a number of shortcomings. "Overall, the
election was administered in a professional manner and real efforts
were made by the authorities to improve the quality of the voter
lists. The media covered all candidates in a rather balanced manner,
but that coverage would have benefitted from more critical analysis
and debates between candidates," said Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini, the
Head of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
(OSCE/ODIHR) long-term election observation mission. "Unfortunately,
the blurring of the distinction between the State and the ruling
party continues to be an issue. This was demonstrated in the misuse
of administrative resources, pressure on voters, and a lack of
impartiality on the part of the public administration."
From: A. Papazian