YEREVAN, April 3. /TASS/. Armenia’s ruling Republican Party led by President Serzh Sargsyan has taken a clear lead in Sunday’s parliamentary polls with 49.7% of the vote, according to data processed from 64% of the polling stations, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said.

The Tsarukyan Bloc of Armenia’s richest businessman Gagik Tsarukyan comes second, scoring 27.84% of the vote. The opposition’s Elk (Exit) Bloc is securing 7.02%, and the Dashnaktsutyun party is winning 6.68% of the vote.

Other political forces have failed to overcome the election threshold. Under the Armenian laws, to win parliamentary seats, a party needs to overcome a 5% threshold, while an election bloc needs to score more than 7% of vote.

Sunday’s election is the first after the 2015 constitutional reform when Armenia became a parliamentary republic. The new parliament will be formed on the multi-party proportional basis, with no voting in one-seat constituencies. Authorities believe the measure will enhance Armenia’s political system and increase the role of political parties. Five political parties and four election blocs took part in the election. </s> President Serzh Sarksyan’s ruling Republican Party won elections in Armenia on Sunday, official results showed, laying the foundation for a new parliamentary system of government.

The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) had 49.12 percent of the votes while the opposition Tsarukyan Alliance led by wealthy businessman Gagik Tsarukyan gathered 27.32 percent.

The government-loyal Dashnaktsutyun Party had 6.57 percent and the opposition bloc Yelk (“Way Out”) 7.77 percent, enough for both to enter parliament.

Central Election Commission chairman Tigran Mukuchyan said the figures were based on results from all 2,009 polling stations.

He said nothing about violations of election rules. The prosecutor’s office said it had been reviewing media reports of violations during the voting and count process.

Opposition parties said they had also filed complaints on irregularities to the prosecutor’s office, but gave no further details.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, observing the conduct of the election, said on Monday there had been some abuses.

It said in a statement the poll was “well administered and fundamental freedoms were generally respected”, but added:

“There was credible information of vote-buying, of pressure on public servants including in schools and hospitals, and of intimidation of voters to vote for certain parties.”

“This contributed to an overall lack of public confidence in the electoral process.”

The Republicans and Dashnaktsutyun, partners in the current parliament, could create a coalition again, getting the right to name the future prime minister, who is expected to be the incumbent Karen Karapetyan.

The election was Armenia’s first under a new constitution, approved in a December 2015 referendum. Parliament, rather than voters, will elect the president for the first time in 2018.

Sarksyan, 62, leader of the RPA and president since 2008, has repeatedly denied the constitutional changes were engineered to allow him to retain influence in the former Soviet republic after his final presidential term ends next year.

The new system reduces the presidency to a ceremonial post and increases the powers of the prime minister. Critics say Sarksyan could keep wielding executive power by becoming prime minister in 2018.

Many Armenians accuse the government of corruption and of mishandling the troubled economy.

Armenia depends heavily for aid and investment on Russia, which has been hard hit in the past three years by an economic downturn. Armenia has felt the impact, with growth falling to 0.2 percent last year from 3.0 percent in 2015.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now </s> Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan arrives at a polling station during a parliamentary election in Yerevan, Armenia, Sunday, April 2, 2017. Armenians voted Sunday in the country's first parliamentary election since the ex-Soviet nation modified its constitution to expand the powers of parliament and the prime minister. (PAN Photo, Davit Hakobyan/Photo via AP)

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia's ruling party has won just under half of the vote in the nation's parliamentary election, enough to claim a majority of seats, authorities said Monday.

Sunday's election was the first since the ex-Soviet nation modified its constitution to expand the powers of parliament and the prime minister.

The Republican Party of Armenia, led by President Serzh Sargsyan, won 49 percent of the vote, and the bloc led by businessman Gagik Tsarukian trailed with 27 percent, the Central Election Commission said on Monday after all ballots were counted.

Two more parties cleared the 5-percent barrier necessary to get seats in parliament. The official results are to be announced later this week.

Critics see the constitutional amendments as part of Sargsyan's efforts to retain control of the country after he steps down in 2018 due to term limits. If his party controls parliament, he could be appointed prime minister after that.

The observer mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said in a statement on Monday that the vote was "well administered and fundamental freedoms were generally respected." The mission, however, pointed to reports of vote-buying, and pressure on civil servants and employees of private companies.

"Reform is a never-ending process, and I encourage the parliamentary majority and the new government to continue their efforts to transform the country's political culture, in partnership with the opposition, civil society and the international community," Ignacio Sanchez Amor, the mission's special coordinator, said in the statement. </s> The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has criticised Armenia's weekend election, saying it was tainted by instances of vote-buying and interference.

President Serzh Sarksyan's ruling Republican Party of Armenia won Sunday's elections, official results showed, laying the foundation for a new parliamentary system of government.

The OSCE said in a statement the elections were well-administered and fundamental freedoms were generally respected.

But, it added, they had been marked by organisational problems and undue interference in the process, mostly by party representatives. It also noted some pressure on civil servants as well as private sector employees.

"The elections were tainted by credible information about vote-buying, and pressure on civil servants and employees of private companies," OSCE said in the statement.

With 100 percent of the vote already counted, official results show the Republican Party won with 49.12 percent votes. The opposition Tsarukyan Alliance, led by wealthy businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, gathered 27.32 percent.

Central Election Commission chairman Tigran Mukuchyan said the figures were based on results from all 2,009 polling stations.

He said nothing about violations of election rules. The prosecutor's office said it had been reviewing media reports of violations during the voting and counting process.

Opposition parties said they had also filed complaints on irregularities to the prosecutor's office, but gave no further details.

The election was Armenia's first under a new constitution, approved in a December 2015 referendum. Parliament, rather than voters, will elect the president for the first time in 2018.

The new system reduces the presidency to a ceremonial post and increases the powers of the prime minister. </s> The vote is dominated by fierce competition between the ruling party of pro-Moscow President Serzh Sarkisian and an opposition coalition led by Gagik Tsarukian, a former arm wrestler who is one of the country's wealthiest businessmen. . . .

"We have recorded numerous violations at polling stations -- violation of ballots' secrecy and multiple voting," Hovsep Khurshudyan, a leader of Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanyan, an opposition coalition, told AFP.

Armenia's interior ministry said it was probing 320 complaints of irregularities, while Justice Minister Arpine Hovhannisyan demanded parties "refrain from incorrect claims of mass violations." </s> YEREVAN -- Official results indicate that President Serzh Sarkisian's ruling Republican Party of Armenia has won about half the votes cast in parliamentary elections that international observers said were "tainted" by reports of vote-buying and pressure on voters.

The Central Election Commission said on April 3 said that with ballots counted from almost all precincts in the April 2 vote, the Republican Party had won 49.15 percent and the center-right Tsarukian alliance, led by Russia-friendly tycoon Gagik Tsarukian, had 27.37 percent.

Republican Party (HHK) spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov told a news conference that the results meant the party "has every chance of forming the new government" in the South Caucasus state, which is set to shift to a parliamentary system of rule next year.

Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other groups said the vote was "tainted by credible information about vote-buying" and pressure on voters, according to a statement posted on the OSCE website.

It said the interference "contributed to an overall lack of public confidence and trust in the elections."

The pro-Western opposition alliance Yelk (Way Out) got 7.78 percent of the vote, enough to secure entry into parliament, the election commission said.

It said the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (HHD-Dashnaktsutiun), a nationalist party that is currently in a ruling coalition with the Republicans, was also on track to win seats, with 6.58 percent.

Turnout was 60.86 percent, the election commission said.

The Tsarukian alliance and the HHD are potential coalition partners for Sarkisian's HHK if it does not win enough votes to form a government on its own.

Nine parties and alliances were seeking seats in parliament in a campaign that focused mostly on economic difficulties in the country of 3 million.

Gross domestic product (GDP) growth dropped from 3 percent in 2015 to 0.2 percent last year in the former Soviet republic, whose economy is heavily dependent on Russia.

Under constitutional changes approved in a 2015 referendum, the Armenian prime minister's office will become more powerful while the presidency is to become a largely ceremonial post elected by parliament.

WATCH: Armenians Vote As Nation Shifts Toward Parliamentary Governance

Those changes are due to take place when Sarkisian's second and final term ends in 2018. Critics charge that they were designed to allow him to stay in power beyond the presidency's two-term limit.

Sarkisian denies that. But if the ruling party wins enough votes to control a parliamentary majority, either alone or in a coalition, he could continue to exercise executive power as prime minister.

He also could maintain clout by staying on as leader of his party, or he could exert influence through a handpicked successor.

Coalition Puzzle

It was not clear ahead of the election whether Tsarukian would be willing to form a coalition again with Sarkisian's party if his alliance did not receive enough votes to govern on its own.

"Everything now depends on our people," Tsakurian said after casting his ballot in his native village of Arinj north of Yerevan. "They are the ones who decide," he added.

Before breaking away and branding itself as an opposition force, Tsarukian's bloc had been a coalition partner of the Republican Party.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation, a smaller party currently in the ruling coalition with the Republicans, could help Sarkisian's party form a majority coalition if Tsarukian is unwilling to do so.

To win parliamentary seats, a party needed at least 5 percent of the vote and alliances needed at least 7 percent.

Days ahead of the vote, the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan issued a joint statement with the European Union, Germany, and the United Kingdom expressing concerns about allegations of irregularities since the campaign formally began on March 5.

The March 29 statement said diplomats were "aware of and concerned by" what it said were allegations of "voter intimidation, attempts to buy votes, and the systemic use of administrative resources to aid certain competing parties."

On election day, a reporter with RFE/RL's Armenian Service was attacked in Yerevan’s Kond neighborhood after investigating allegations of vote-buying at a local campaign office of the ruling HHK.

Another female reporter was also attacked outside the HHK office in Kond when she started filming people visiting it.

The Prosecutor-General's Office said more than 220 criminal allegations of voter fraud were under investigation and that it had reports of significant problems with new voter identity devices that failed to recognize hundreds of voters, including the president.



Political analysts say that’s because public anger over Armenia's economic problems is even stronger now than in 2015, when thousands of demonstrators blocked a central boulevard in Yerevan to protest planned electricity-price hikes.

WATCH: In Armenia, Several Reporters Attacked While Covering Elections

For many, low wages, high inflation, joblessness, and corruption have eclipsed the question of whether Armenia should remain within the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union or seek closer integration with Europe.



Russian weapons deliveries to Baku had been the topic of heated debate after an escalation of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh last year.



But in the parliamentary campaign, most political forces steered clear of those issues and the question of whether Armenia is more secure with Russia as its ally.

With reporting by Ron Synovitz in Prague, Suren Musayelyan in Yerevan, AP, Reuters, and AFP </s> Armenians voted Sunday in the country's first parliamentary election since the ex-Soviet nation modified its constitution to expand the powers of parliament and the prime minister. An exit poll released after voting stations closed showed the Republican Party of Armenia's president, Serzh Sargsyan, getting 46 percent of the vote, trailed by the bloc led by businessman Gagik Tsarukian with 29 percent.

Start the conversation, or Read more at WOGY-AM Pittston. </s> Yerevan - Opposition parties denounced electoral violations as Armenians voted in legislative polls Sunday for the first time since the adoption of constitutional reforms transforming the ex-Soviet country into a parliamentary republic.

The West sees the election as a key democratic test for the small landlocked nation of 2.9 million, which has no history of transfers of power to an opposition through the ballot box.

The vote is dominated by fierce competition between the ruling party of pro-Moscow President Serzh Sarkisian and an opposition coalition led by Gagik Tsarukian, a former arm wrestler who is one of the country's wealthiest businessmen.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan told journalists he "voted for progress and security," urging ballots be cast in "a spirit of solidarity and tolerance."

Turnout stood at 33% six hours after polls opened, the Central Electoral Commission said.

But opposition politicians reported violations at polling stations after previously warning that the government is preparing mass electoral fraud.

"We have recorded numerous violations at polling stations - violation of ballots' secrecy and multiple voting," Hovsep Khurshudyan, a leader of Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanyan, an opposition coalition, told AFP.

Armenia's interior ministry said it was probing 320 complaints of irregularities, while Justice Minister Arpine Hovhannisyan demanded parties "refrain from incorrect claims of mass violations."

US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said its correspondent Sisak Gabrielyan "was attacked by government loyalists in Yerevan on Sunday while covering Armenia's parliamentary elections."

Before the vote, the EU delegation to Armenia and the US embassy said in a joint statement that they were "concerned by allegations of voter intimidation, attempts to buy votes, and the systemic use of administrative resources to aid certain competing parties."

Violence flared following Sarkisian's election in 2008 with 10 people killed in clashes between police and opposition supporters.

This time, the country aims to hold an exemplary vote to elect "a parliament trusted by society," the president told AFP in a March interview.

He said his government "has made enormous efforts so that (Sunday's) milestone vote is flawless."

The polls follow constitutional amendments initiated by Sarkisian in 2015 that his opponents say were designed to keep his Republican Party in power.

The amendments will shift the country away from a strong presidency to a parliamentary form of government after Sarkisian's second and final term ends in 2018.

The opposition says the changes were made to allow Sarkisian, 62, to maintain his grip on power by remaining party leader after he steps down as president.

Sarkisian denies that, saying the changes are "part of Armenia's democratisation process."

Ahead of the vote, Sarkisian told AFP he would remain "active" in politics after he left office by staying as party leader.

"As chair of the Republican Party, I assume responsibility for my teammates," he said when asked about his post-2018 future.

Both ruling and opposition parties have campaigned on populist promises such as "jobs, wages, pensions," Gevorg Poghosyan, a pollster at the Armenian Sociologists' Association, told AFP.

"That's what matters to the voters" in a country where about 30 percent of the population live under the official poverty line, he said.

"The Republican Party and Tsarukian's coalition are likely to get the lion's share of seats in the new parliament - more than 80%," Poghosyan predicted.

Tsarukian has built his campaign on lavish promises to cut tariffs on natural gas and electricity and hike public-sector salaries and pensions. He accuses the government of failing to address poverty and endemic corruption.

A total of five parties and four electoral blocs are running in Sunday's vote, with 101 parliamentary seats up for grabs under a proportional representation system.

A party needs to clear a five-percent threshold to win seats, while an electoral bloc made up of several parties needs at least seven percent of the vote.

Voting was being monitored by international observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. </s> European observers also report 'pressure on civil servants' in elections won by President Serzh Sarksyan.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has criticised Armenia's weekend election, saying it had been tainted by instances of vote-buying and interference.

President Serzh Sarksyan's ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) won Sunday's elections, official results showed, laying the foundation for a new parliamentary system of government.

The OSCE said in a statement the elections were well-administered and fundamental freedoms were generally respected.

But, it added, they had been marked by organisational problems and undue interference in the process, mostly by party representatives. It also noted some pressure on civil servants as well as private sector employees.

"The elections were tainted by credible information about vote-buying, and pressure on civil servants and employees of private companies," OSCE said in the statement.

With 100 percent of the vote already counted, official results show the Republican Party has won with 49.12 percent votes. The opposition Tsarukyan Alliance, led by wealthy businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, gathered 27.32 percent.

Central Election Commission chairman Tigran Mukuchyan said the figures were based on results from all 2,009 polling stations.

He said nothing about violations of election rules. The prosecutor's office said it had been reviewing media reports of violations during the voting and count process.

Opposition parties said they had also filed complaints on irregularities to the prosecutor's office, but gave no further details.

The election was Armenia's first under a new constitution, approved in a December 2015 referendum. Parliament, rather than voters, will elect the president for the first time in 2018.

The new system reduces the presidency to a ceremonial post and increases the powers of the prime minister.
Authorities declare that the Republican Party, led by President Serzh Sargsyan, wins the Armenia election amid accusations by opposition parties and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe of voting irregularities.