YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – Tens of thousands of opposition supporters rallied for a second straight day in Armenia’s capital Thursday, claiming the presidential election was rigged and vowing to protest until a new vote is held.
Activists erected a handful of tents on the square outside Yerevan’s opera house as they promised to hold round-the-clock protests.
Election officials said Wednesday that Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian – the favored successor of outgoing President Robert Kocharian – received almost 53 percent of the vote, enough to win the presidency outright. The official count gave the opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian 21.5 percent.
Opponents say the election was marred by widespread violations and violence targeting opposition activists who monitored the vote.
The opposition say the real winner was Ter-Petrosian, seeking a comeback after serving as independent Armenia’s first president following the 1991 Soviet breakup.
An estimated 25,000 protesters waved flags, raised clenched fists and shouted, “Levon! Levon!” as Ter-Petrosian claimed that two deputy defense ministers had switched to his side and promised that the army would not intervene in the demonstration.
“Both deputy ministers stand together with the people and they will defend the candidate who has the people’s trust,” Ter-Petrosian said. “The army will not intervene in politics.”
The claim could not be immediately verified.
Opposition activists later began erecting tents on the main square and a steady supplies of warm clothing and blankets arrived in a sign that the opposition hoped to make its protest long-term.
In spite of the freezing temperatures, the mood was festive as fireworks were set off and people danced in the traditional Caucasian style to the accompaniment of loud music blaring through loudspeakers.
No police were visible on the square
“Today we begin nonstop protests and rallies,” Ter-Petrosian aide Nicol Pashinian said. “We’re going to stay here until we win.”
Pashinian warned the authorities they have until Friday to agree to hold a new vote or face the prospect of further rallies and marches.
The opposition faces an uphill struggle in mustering enough support to force a new vote. Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose powerful country has close ties with Armenia, congratulated Sarkisian on his victory, and an influential mission of international observers issued a generally positive evaluation.
The claims of vote-rigging and beatings of activists enraged many Armenians, but opposition efforts have also been weakened by the lack of outside support and the favorable coverage Sarkisian receives in local media.
The standoff has raised concerns of instability in the volatile, strategic country at the junction of the energy-rich Caspian Sea region and southern Europe, with Russia and Iran nearby.
Memories of economic hardships of the early 1990s and the devastating conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh are still fresh. Many Armenians long for calm and stability.
“I am already sick and tired of all these rallies – every time after elections they stage these shows and prevent people from going about their business,” said Vladimir Tatevosian, 39, a construction engineer in Yerevan.
The capital was the scene of weeks-long protests following Kocharian’s re-election in 2003, which the opposition also called fraudulent. The protests never gained momentum, however, unlike in neighboring Georgia and Ukraine, where demonstrations ushered opposition leaders to power in what became known as the Rose and the Orange revolutions, respectively.
The election campaign was dominated by the country’s slow economic revival and efforts to resolve the status of Nagorno-Karabakh – a mountainous region in neighboring Azerbaijan that has been under ethnic Armenian control since a cease-fire ended six years of fighting in 1994. Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia on Sunday added an element of uncertainty for Armenians, many of whom see clear analogies between Kosovo and Nagorno-Karabakh.
