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Armenian President Wins Second Term By Wide Margin

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  • Armenian President Wins Second Term By Wide Margin

    ARMENIAN PRESIDENT WINS SECOND TERM BY WIDE MARGIN

    EurActiv, EU
    Feb 19 2013

    Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan won a second five-year term, the
    Central Electoral Commission said on Tuesday (19 February).

    Police said after polls closed on Monday that they had received 70
    reports of voting violations, including bribery at polling stations,
    and that they had opened two criminal investigations.

    The president, 58, has vowed to improve the economy in his landlocked
    South Caucasus country and said before the vote he would ensure
    stability and security after years of war and upheaval, though he
    outlined no big policy changes.

    Sarksyan, like many of his generation, is a veteran of the
    Nagorno-Karabakh war, and has accused neighbouring Azerbaijan of
    threatening a new conflict. Baku denies it is the aggressor and says
    Armenia should hand back control of Nagorno-Karabakh.

    The continued peace of a region where pipelines take Caspian oil
    and natural gas to Europe is a concern for foreign investors and
    neighbours.

    Preliminary results released by the Central Electoral Commission
    showed Sarksyan had won 58.6% of the votes cast. His closest rival,
    American-born Raffi Hovannisian, who served previously as foreign
    minister, was winning nearly 37% of votes.

    The opposition Heritage Party said that some ballots cast for
    opposition parties had been thrown out, although there was no
    indication whether it would challenge the vote, which passed without
    any major violence.

    Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for
    Security and Co-operation in Europe said the election was peaceful
    and generally well conducted.

    "However, the limited field of candidates meant that the election was
    not genuinely competitive," they said in a written statement. "The
    candidates who did run were able to campaign in a free atmosphere and
    to present their views to voters, but the campaign overall failed to
    engage the public's interest."

    The last presidential election, in 2008, was marred by clashes in which
    10 people were killed, but there were no reports of violence this time.

    EurActiv.com with Reuters

    http://www.euractiv.com/europes-east/armenia-president-reelected-oppo-news-517926

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