Brussels, 19/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan was re-elected on Monday 18 February with 58.64% of the votes in the first round. The election took place calmly after a campaign that lacked any substantive political debate or real competition, according to the European Parliament delegation. Three main opposition forces refused to take part. The delegation added that Yerevan should restore confidence in the electoral process and undertake democratic, economic and social reforms with a view to concluding the association agreement with the EU.
The OSCE has underlined that these elections did show improvements but that there was no true competition, saying “competition is critical if Armenia is going to live up to the aspirations of its people for a vibrant and engaging democracy”. It also notes that there was misuse of administrative resources and pressure on public service employees at local level. Freedoms were “generally respected”, however, including the freedom to conduct campaigns, freedom of association and freedom of expression.
Sargsyan's main adversary, the former foreign minister, Raffi Hovannissian, challenged the results, pointing to massive irregularities. The turnout at the polls was 60%. (CG/transl.jl)