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Hovannisian Challenges Sarkisian On 'Transition Of Power'

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  • Hovannisian Challenges Sarkisian On 'Transition Of Power'

    HOVANNISIAN CHALLENGES SARKISIAN ON 'TRANSITION OF POWER'

    http://asbarez.com/108360/hovannisian-challenges-sarkisian-for-%E2%80%98transition-of-power%E2%80%99/
    Tuesday, February 19th, 2013

    Yerevan residents flock to a post-election rally organized by Raffi
    Hovannisian

    YEREVAN (Combined Sources) - Heritage Party Presidential Candidate
    Raffi Hovannisian, at a press conference and rally held at Liberty
    Square Tuesday, called Monday's presidential elections a "victory for
    the people" and urged President Serzh Sarkisian to meet with him by
    5 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the peaceful transition of power.

    "I am already the elected president of the Republic of Armenia," he
    told supporters at the Liberty Square rally. "I want to come here
    tomorrow at 5 p.m. and report to you that I met with Mr. Sakisian
    and that he had the strength, manliness ... to say that the Armenian
    people won and congratulate them."

    Hovannisian and campaign representatives declined to state what course
    of action they would take should Sarkisian refuse the meeting.

    Armenia's Central Election Commission reported that Sarkisian secured
    58.6 percent of the vote to win the election with Hovannisian coming
    in second with 36.8 percent. Early results put former prime minister
    Hrant Bagratian in third place with 2.2 percent of the votes. The
    remaining four candidates Paruir Hayrikian, Andrias Ghukasyan, Vardan
    Sedrakyan and Armen Melikyan each received less than two percent of
    the votes, according to the preliminary reports. According to the CEC,
    60 percent of eligible voters took part in Monday's election.

    Hovannisian campaign spokesperson Hovsep Khurshudyan disputed the
    results, telling reporters that the results from 21 of 42 polling
    stations sampled had different results than those reported by the CEC.

    "We had 27,902 votes at the polling stations, with 19,057 votes or 68%
    cast for Raffi Hovannisian, and 32% for Serzh Sargsyan. We can get
    the results with difficulties. All the election commission chairmen
    were ordered not to provide information from the polling stations
    where Raffi Hovannisian is winning," Khurshudyan stated.

    A preliminary findings report by election observers representing the
    OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR),
    the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the
    European Parliament (EP) noted marked improvements in electoral
    practices, but documented a number of shortcomings. "Overall, the
    election was administered in a professional manner and real efforts
    were made by the authorities to improve the quality of the voter
    lists. The media covered all candidates in a rather balanced manner,
    but that coverage would have benefitted from more critical analysis
    and debates between candidates," said Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini, the
    Head of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
    (OSCE/ODIHR) long-term election observation mission. "Unfortunately,
    the blurring of the distinction between the State and the ruling
    party continues to be an issue. This was demonstrated in the misuse
    of administrative resources, pressure on voters, and a lack of
    impartiality on the part of the public administration."




    From: A. Papazian
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