Armenia set to re-elect Sargsyan

YEREVAN – Agence France-Presse

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan. REUTERS Photo

Armenians voted Feb. 18 in a presidential poll expected to be easily won by incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan against weak rivals but which is seen as a crucial democratic test for the ex-Soviet state.

The vote is shadowed by last month’s assassination attempt against presidential candidate Paruyr Hayrikyan which has yet to be fully explained and at one point risked derailing the holding of the ballot.
“I voted today for Armenia’s future, for the well-being of our citizens and families,” Sargsyan said after
voting in a central polling station in Yerevan.

Sargsyan’s top challenger, former Foreign Minister Raffi Hovannisian, said the election marked “the most crucial day in our country’s modern history” and denounced irregularities in voters’ lists and voting procedures. The police dismissed his allegations as “obvious fiction.”

Most opinion polls give Sargsyan a strong lead and the fractured opposition forces have failed to find a common challenger to the incumbent leader.