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INCUMBENT WINS EASY VICTORY IN ARMENIA
The New York Times
February 20, 2013 Wednesday
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
President Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia easily won re-election to a second
five-year term, according to preliminary returns released on Tuesday
by the Central Election Commission.
The returns showed Mr. Sargsyan with about 59 percent of the vote,
enough to win the presidency outright and avoid a runoff. The former
foreign minister, Raffi Hovanessian, was a distant second with about
37 percent, the returns showed.
Armenians went to the polls on Monday with Mr. Sargsyan heavily
favored to win and maintain stability in a country that has become an
increasingly important, if uneasy, United States ally in monitoring
Iran's nuclear ambitions.
A veteran politician, Mr. Sargsyan, 58, is generally viewed as having
presided over modest economic improvements in recent years, even as
the country has struggled because of closed borders with Turkey and
Azerbaijan, its enemy in a continuing war over the disputed territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh.
But while Mr. Sargsyan's victory has been predicted for months,
there have been some unexpected developments in the campaign. One
challenger, Andreas Ghukasian, a political commentator who manages a
radio station in the capital, Yerevan, has been on a hunger strike,
demanding that the incumbent be removed from the ballot.
Another challenger, Paruir A. Airikyan, was shot in the shoulder in
late January in what the authorities described as an assassination
attempt, although there was no known motive. He is a former Soviet
dissident who promoted Armenian independence and has run unsuccessfully
for president several times.
Mr. Airikyan briefly considered invoking a constitutional provision
to delay the election for two weeks as a result of his injury, but
he ultimately decided to allow the balloting to proceed.
Mr. Sargsyan's second term will be watched closely for any sign of
progress in resolving the war with Azerbaijan and for any indication
that Armenia would reduce support for economic sanctions against Iran,
as they make life more difficult in both countries.
The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh continues at a low simmer with
periodic violence along the line of contact, including frequent
exchanges of gunfire and occasional casualties. Peace talks led by
the so-called Minsk Group, which is led by the United States, Russia
and France, have mostly stalled.
Armenia has traditionally relied heavily on Iran as an economic
partner, but those ties are now constrained by the sanctions over
Iran's nuclear program. Iran insists its purposes are peaceful,
but Western powers accuse Tehran of seeking the technology to build
nuclear weapons and have imposed a broadening array of United States,
United Nations and European Union sanctions.
Armenia has supported the measures, while continuing to engage in
some trade that circumvents them, like swapping its electricity for
natural gas from Iran with no money changing hands.
"Having Iran as your economic lifeline is not a good position to be
in," said one senior Western diplomat, who asked not to be identified
to avoid creating any tension with players in the region.
"They have been very, very careful, very, very good, at some cost to
Armenia, to honor international U.N., U.S. and E.U. sanctions against
Iran," the diplomat said. "But it's increasingly difficult for them
to do that."
International election observers have fanned out across Armenia in
recent days. Initial reports suggested that Mr. Sargsyan's party
had made some inappropriate use of government resources to promote
his candidacy, a common criticism of incumbent candidates in former
Soviet republics. But observers say the overall political climate has
improved, with opposition candidates, for instance, enjoying better
access to coverage by the news media.
Still, Armenia faces a peculiar problem when it comes to potential
election fraud because of the hundreds of thousands of Armenian
citizens who live abroad, including in the United States -- one of the
largest percentage diasporas in the world given Armenia's population
of 3.1 million, according to the World Bank.
With few exceptions, absentee balloting is not permitted. That means
the Armenian election rolls are filled with the names of people
who will not appear in person to vote, creating the potential for
fraudulent use of those names.
Mr. Sargsyan faced relatively weak competition after his two strongest
potential challengers and their parties announced last year that
they would not compete -- former President Levon Ter-Petrossian of
the Armenian National Congress and Gagik Tsarukyan of the Prosperous
Armenia Party. Mr. Tsarukyan is a wealthy businessman, lawmaker and
the head of Armenia's national Olympic committee.
Mr. Sargsyan and his wife, Rita, paused Monday to speak with
reporters after voting in Yerevan. "I have voted for the security
of our citizens and our families," he said, according to aysor.am,
an Armenian news site.
URL:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/world/europe/president-sargsyan-wins-easy-victory-in-armenia-election.html
The New York Times
February 20, 2013 Wednesday
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
President Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia easily won re-election to a second
five-year term, according to preliminary returns released on Tuesday
by the Central Election Commission.
The returns showed Mr. Sargsyan with about 59 percent of the vote,
enough to win the presidency outright and avoid a runoff. The former
foreign minister, Raffi Hovanessian, was a distant second with about
37 percent, the returns showed.
Armenians went to the polls on Monday with Mr. Sargsyan heavily
favored to win and maintain stability in a country that has become an
increasingly important, if uneasy, United States ally in monitoring
Iran's nuclear ambitions.
A veteran politician, Mr. Sargsyan, 58, is generally viewed as having
presided over modest economic improvements in recent years, even as
the country has struggled because of closed borders with Turkey and
Azerbaijan, its enemy in a continuing war over the disputed territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh.
But while Mr. Sargsyan's victory has been predicted for months,
there have been some unexpected developments in the campaign. One
challenger, Andreas Ghukasian, a political commentator who manages a
radio station in the capital, Yerevan, has been on a hunger strike,
demanding that the incumbent be removed from the ballot.
Another challenger, Paruir A. Airikyan, was shot in the shoulder in
late January in what the authorities described as an assassination
attempt, although there was no known motive. He is a former Soviet
dissident who promoted Armenian independence and has run unsuccessfully
for president several times.
Mr. Airikyan briefly considered invoking a constitutional provision
to delay the election for two weeks as a result of his injury, but
he ultimately decided to allow the balloting to proceed.
Mr. Sargsyan's second term will be watched closely for any sign of
progress in resolving the war with Azerbaijan and for any indication
that Armenia would reduce support for economic sanctions against Iran,
as they make life more difficult in both countries.
The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh continues at a low simmer with
periodic violence along the line of contact, including frequent
exchanges of gunfire and occasional casualties. Peace talks led by
the so-called Minsk Group, which is led by the United States, Russia
and France, have mostly stalled.
Armenia has traditionally relied heavily on Iran as an economic
partner, but those ties are now constrained by the sanctions over
Iran's nuclear program. Iran insists its purposes are peaceful,
but Western powers accuse Tehran of seeking the technology to build
nuclear weapons and have imposed a broadening array of United States,
United Nations and European Union sanctions.
Armenia has supported the measures, while continuing to engage in
some trade that circumvents them, like swapping its electricity for
natural gas from Iran with no money changing hands.
"Having Iran as your economic lifeline is not a good position to be
in," said one senior Western diplomat, who asked not to be identified
to avoid creating any tension with players in the region.
"They have been very, very careful, very, very good, at some cost to
Armenia, to honor international U.N., U.S. and E.U. sanctions against
Iran," the diplomat said. "But it's increasingly difficult for them
to do that."
International election observers have fanned out across Armenia in
recent days. Initial reports suggested that Mr. Sargsyan's party
had made some inappropriate use of government resources to promote
his candidacy, a common criticism of incumbent candidates in former
Soviet republics. But observers say the overall political climate has
improved, with opposition candidates, for instance, enjoying better
access to coverage by the news media.
Still, Armenia faces a peculiar problem when it comes to potential
election fraud because of the hundreds of thousands of Armenian
citizens who live abroad, including in the United States -- one of the
largest percentage diasporas in the world given Armenia's population
of 3.1 million, according to the World Bank.
With few exceptions, absentee balloting is not permitted. That means
the Armenian election rolls are filled with the names of people
who will not appear in person to vote, creating the potential for
fraudulent use of those names.
Mr. Sargsyan faced relatively weak competition after his two strongest
potential challengers and their parties announced last year that
they would not compete -- former President Levon Ter-Petrossian of
the Armenian National Congress and Gagik Tsarukyan of the Prosperous
Armenia Party. Mr. Tsarukyan is a wealthy businessman, lawmaker and
the head of Armenia's national Olympic committee.
Mr. Sargsyan and his wife, Rita, paused Monday to speak with
reporters after voting in Yerevan. "I have voted for the security
of our citizens and our families," he said, according to aysor.am,
an Armenian news site.
URL:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/world/europe/president-sargsyan-wins-easy-victory-in-armenia-election.html