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SARKSYAN EXPECTED TO WIN RE-ELECTION IN ARMENIA
EuroNews, EU
Feb 18 2013
Voting has begun in the Armenian presidential elections where current
President Serzh Sarksyan is bidding for a second consecutive term
in office.
Elected in a vote marred by fraud and deadly violence in 2008,
this year's poll has seen the leading opposition figures decline
the challenge, so Sarksyan has scored 60% in opinion polls, with his
nearest challenger barely making double figures.
One outsider candidate is currently in hospital after being shot, while
another has been on hunger strike since the start of the campaign to
demand Sarksyan's candidacy be annulled, and for the international
observers in Armenia to boycott the vote.
Council of Europe officials observed on a January visit that there
was an atmosphere of apathy towards the vote, and that few people
expressed confidence in the electoral process.
Sarksyan is a native of the Nagorno-Karabakh region wrested from
Azerbaijan in a war in the 1990s. He says he is pursuing peace talks
with Armenia's neighbour, but is ready to fight for the territory
again if necessary.
From: Baghdasarian
EuroNews, EU
Feb 18 2013
Voting has begun in the Armenian presidential elections where current
President Serzh Sarksyan is bidding for a second consecutive term
in office.
Elected in a vote marred by fraud and deadly violence in 2008,
this year's poll has seen the leading opposition figures decline
the challenge, so Sarksyan has scored 60% in opinion polls, with his
nearest challenger barely making double figures.
One outsider candidate is currently in hospital after being shot, while
another has been on hunger strike since the start of the campaign to
demand Sarksyan's candidacy be annulled, and for the international
observers in Armenia to boycott the vote.
Council of Europe officials observed on a January visit that there
was an atmosphere of apathy towards the vote, and that few people
expressed confidence in the electoral process.
Sarksyan is a native of the Nagorno-Karabakh region wrested from
Azerbaijan in a war in the 1990s. He says he is pursuing peace talks
with Armenia's neighbour, but is ready to fight for the territory
again if necessary.
From: Baghdasarian