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EMG.rs, Serbia
May 6 2012
France, Greece, Serbia, Armenia vote in crucial elections
Four European nations - France, Greece, Serbia, and Armenia - are
holding Sunday, May 6, 2012, crucial elections.
Four European nations - France, Greece, Serbia, and Armenia - are
holding Sunday, May 6, 2012, crucial elections.
France: Anti-Sarkozy Vote?
In France, incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy is facing his Socialist
challenger, Francois Hollande in the run-off of the French
Presidential Elections, with Sarkozy trailing Hollande by 6 percentage
points in polls Friday.
After eight other candidates were eliminated in the first round on
April 22, Hollande has led Sarkozy in every poll conducted throughout
the campaign.
Hollande, after gaining the endorsement of centrist Francois Bayrou,
who had won 9.1% in the first round two weeks ago, urged voters to
give him enough support so that he can act when he takes office and
not be "a hobbled victor."
Hollande has promised to renegotiate the European Union's "fiscal
pact," which sets tight budget rules, and he called for a "growth
pact" to stimulate stagnant economies and add new jobs.
The choice that French people make will affect France and the European
Union and its attempts to manage the eurozone debt crisis. France is
also a permanent U.N. Security Council member and nuclear power and
has troops on missions abroad, from Afghanistan to Congo.
Greece: Debt-ridden Disillusionment
Debt-ridden Greece is voting Sunday in its first general elections
since in the Socialist Cabinet of George Papandreou stepped down in
the fall of 2011 to make way for a caretaker Cabinet.
Thus, Greeks began voting at 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT, 12 a.m. EDT)
in their most critical election in decades, with voters set to punish
the two main parties that are being held responsible for the country's
dire economic straits.
32 parties vie for the votes of nearly 10 million registered voters.
Such is the disillusionment with the socialist PASOK party and
conservative New Democracy, which have been alternating in power for
the last 38 years, that neither is expected to garner enough votes to
form a government, reports say.
Days of wrangling over forming a coalition will likely ensue, with the
prospect - alarming to Greece's lenders and much of the country's
population - of another round of elections if they fail.
Serbia: EU Integration Test
Former ultra-nationalist allies of Slobodan Milosevic may return to
power in Serbia, 12 years after the late Balkan strongman was ousted
by pro-Western forces seeking EU membership, international media
report, raising alarm.
The first-round vote on Sunday for Serbian president, and votes for a
250-seat national assembly and local councils, pit pro-EU democrats
against nationalists. The two leading contenders are the Democratic
Party of recent president Boris Tadic and Milosevic's former ally
Tomislav Nikolic, of the right-wing populist Serbian Progressive
Party.
A presidential run-off is expected on May 20, as both Tadic and
Nikolic are unlikely to get more than 50% of the first-round vote that
includes 12 candidates.
Incumbent President Tadic has urged Serbs to vote for him for the sake
of their country's EU integration.
Armenia: Democracy Test
Voters in Armenia have begun casting ballots in parliamentary
elections seen as a crucial test of the nation's stated commitment to
democracy.
Ninety seats in the 131-member National Assembly are being contested
in a proportional vote by nine political forces, including eight
parties and one bloc. Another 41 parliament seats are up for grabs in
single-mandate elections in as many constituencies contested by a
total of 139 candidates on the first-past-the-post basis.
As has repeatedly been stated by Armenia's international partners,
including the European Union and the United States, and has been
acknowledged by the Armenian leadership, the May 6 polls put on the
line the nation's broader democratic credentials. Virtually all
general elections held in Armenia during its two decades of
independence have been flawed and fallen short of international
democratic standards.
Opinion polls suggest that Armenian Preisdent Serzh Sarkisian's
Republican party, which currently has a parliamentary majority, is
ahead of its ally in the outgoing coalition - the Prosperous Armenia
party led by millionaire tycoon and former arm-wrestler Gagik
Tsarukian - with opposition parties trailing behind.
http://www.emg.rs/en/news/world/179119.html
May 6 2012
France, Greece, Serbia, Armenia vote in crucial elections
Four European nations - France, Greece, Serbia, and Armenia - are
holding Sunday, May 6, 2012, crucial elections.
Four European nations - France, Greece, Serbia, and Armenia - are
holding Sunday, May 6, 2012, crucial elections.
France: Anti-Sarkozy Vote?
In France, incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy is facing his Socialist
challenger, Francois Hollande in the run-off of the French
Presidential Elections, with Sarkozy trailing Hollande by 6 percentage
points in polls Friday.
After eight other candidates were eliminated in the first round on
April 22, Hollande has led Sarkozy in every poll conducted throughout
the campaign.
Hollande, after gaining the endorsement of centrist Francois Bayrou,
who had won 9.1% in the first round two weeks ago, urged voters to
give him enough support so that he can act when he takes office and
not be "a hobbled victor."
Hollande has promised to renegotiate the European Union's "fiscal
pact," which sets tight budget rules, and he called for a "growth
pact" to stimulate stagnant economies and add new jobs.
The choice that French people make will affect France and the European
Union and its attempts to manage the eurozone debt crisis. France is
also a permanent U.N. Security Council member and nuclear power and
has troops on missions abroad, from Afghanistan to Congo.
Greece: Debt-ridden Disillusionment
Debt-ridden Greece is voting Sunday in its first general elections
since in the Socialist Cabinet of George Papandreou stepped down in
the fall of 2011 to make way for a caretaker Cabinet.
Thus, Greeks began voting at 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT, 12 a.m. EDT)
in their most critical election in decades, with voters set to punish
the two main parties that are being held responsible for the country's
dire economic straits.
32 parties vie for the votes of nearly 10 million registered voters.
Such is the disillusionment with the socialist PASOK party and
conservative New Democracy, which have been alternating in power for
the last 38 years, that neither is expected to garner enough votes to
form a government, reports say.
Days of wrangling over forming a coalition will likely ensue, with the
prospect - alarming to Greece's lenders and much of the country's
population - of another round of elections if they fail.
Serbia: EU Integration Test
Former ultra-nationalist allies of Slobodan Milosevic may return to
power in Serbia, 12 years after the late Balkan strongman was ousted
by pro-Western forces seeking EU membership, international media
report, raising alarm.
The first-round vote on Sunday for Serbian president, and votes for a
250-seat national assembly and local councils, pit pro-EU democrats
against nationalists. The two leading contenders are the Democratic
Party of recent president Boris Tadic and Milosevic's former ally
Tomislav Nikolic, of the right-wing populist Serbian Progressive
Party.
A presidential run-off is expected on May 20, as both Tadic and
Nikolic are unlikely to get more than 50% of the first-round vote that
includes 12 candidates.
Incumbent President Tadic has urged Serbs to vote for him for the sake
of their country's EU integration.
Armenia: Democracy Test
Voters in Armenia have begun casting ballots in parliamentary
elections seen as a crucial test of the nation's stated commitment to
democracy.
Ninety seats in the 131-member National Assembly are being contested
in a proportional vote by nine political forces, including eight
parties and one bloc. Another 41 parliament seats are up for grabs in
single-mandate elections in as many constituencies contested by a
total of 139 candidates on the first-past-the-post basis.
As has repeatedly been stated by Armenia's international partners,
including the European Union and the United States, and has been
acknowledged by the Armenian leadership, the May 6 polls put on the
line the nation's broader democratic credentials. Virtually all
general elections held in Armenia during its two decades of
independence have been flawed and fallen short of international
democratic standards.
Opinion polls suggest that Armenian Preisdent Serzh Sarkisian's
Republican party, which currently has a parliamentary majority, is
ahead of its ally in the outgoing coalition - the Prosperous Armenia
party led by millionaire tycoon and former arm-wrestler Gagik
Tsarukian - with opposition parties trailing behind.
http://www.emg.rs/en/news/world/179119.html