February 21, 2008	Thursday	Safar 13, 1429

YEREVAN, Feb 20: Armenia’s Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian was declared winner on Wednesday of the ex-Soviet state’s presidential election, but some 20,000 opposition supporters took the streets to protest the result.

Sarkisian scored 52.9 per cent to secure a first-round win over former president Levon Ter-Petrosian, who secured 21.5 per cent, elections commission chairman Garegin Azarian said after all votes had been counted from Tuesday’s election.

However the results were rejected by opponents of Sarkisian, who is a close ally of outgoing President Robert Kocharian.

Some 20,000 protesters marched through the snow-lined centre of Armenia’s capital Yerevan, waving Armenian flags and chanting “Go away Serzh!” “Fight to the end!” and “Armenia Unite!” Kocharian wasted no time in congratulating his protege on his “convincing victory,” saying in a statement the vote had been “free and fair” and gave Sarkisian a mandate to continue “rapid development and democratisation.” Europe’s main election monitoring body, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said the vote had “mostly” met international standards.

The vote “was conducted mostly in line with the country’s international commitments although further improvements are necessary to address remaining challenges,” the OSCE said in a statement.

British politician John Prescott, who was part of the observer mission, said that “while we noted improvements in the framework for these elections, problems with its implementation, especially during the vote count, in some cases undermined the trust of the people.” Wednesday’s protest raised fears of unrest in a country known for its volatile politics. More protests were planned for Thursday.

Addressing the crowd, Ter-Petrosian criticised the OSCE for giving the vote a relatively positive appraisal.

He condemned the “shameful elections” and vowed to fight on. “We have a precise plan and we will win,” he said.

He said election day had been marred by serious violations, echoing his earlier claims that Sarkisian had benefited unfairly by making use of state resources to promote his candidacy.—AFP