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Armenian Opposition Awaiting Victory
The Central Elections Commission of Armenia announced the official results of the presidential election in that country this weekend and declared former prime minister Serzh Sarkisyan the winner with 52.82 percent of the vote. Opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosyan officially received 21.5 percent of the vote. The opposition continues to protest and the government is taking extreme measures to prevent officials from going over to the other side.
On Friday, seven members of the Armenian parliament from the from the governing faction announced their support for presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosyan at a public meeting on Theater Square in Yerevan. They cited a “massive falsification of votes” for their decisions. Deputy Prosecutor General of Armenia Gagik Dzhangiryan stated at the same time that he had “never seen such massive falsification as in the elections on February 19.” Dzhangiryan was the investigator of the terrorist shooting that took place in the Armenian parliament on October 27, 1999, that was discontinued under government pressure. Responsibility for the terrorist act was place firmly on the authorities at that meeting.
On the same day, deputy speaker of the parliament Vaan Ovannisyan resigned because of his objections to the voting results and several deputy foreign ministers and ambassadors also declared their support for the opposition by resigning simultaneously. Another six foreign ministry officials resigned the following day. Ter-Petrosyan has been present at the meetings and in the tent city.
Sarkisyan stated on Friday that law enforcement agencies “should carefully examine all facts connected with violations of voting legislation.” However, current Armenian President Robert Kocharyan then appeared on all local television channels and accused the opposition of creating a schism and destabilizing society. Dzhangiryan was arrested, as were former tax minister Smbat Aivazyan and opposition leader Aram Karapetyan. The official announcement of the election results means that there will be no recount. The opposition has been warned that law enforcement will take decisive measures to clear Theater Square on February 25.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 26, 2008
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