Yerevan, Armenia
Armenian President Robert Kocharian claimed a re-election win last week in a vote marred by ballot-box stuffing and voter intimidation. His opponent, Stepan Demirchian, son of the former Soviet republic’s communist-era leader, vowed to challenge the results, saying they “have nothing to do with the real choice made by the people.” International election observers agreed, and pronounced the election seriously flawed. “Kocharian did not win the election, and he knows that the people know it,” said David Petrosyan of the Noyan Tapan news agency. “It is this fact that will make his legitimacy as president extremely low.” The controversy threatens to unsettle the deeply corrupt and already volatile country, which borders Turkey and Iran.
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