Armenia Faces Presidential Run-Off Amid Ballot-Stuffing Complaints

Armenia faces a contentious run-off presidential election in early March, as President Robert Kocharian narrowly missed reaching the 50 percent barrier needed to secure outright victory in the first round. Claims of ballot-rigging, made by Kocharian's leading presidential rivals, marred the February 19 election.

According to preliminary results provided by Armenia's Central Election Commission (CEC), Kocharian received 49.8 percent of the vote. Stepan Demirchian, leader of the People's Party, had the second highest vote total at about 28 percent. The two are expected to compete in the run-off election, tentatively scheduled for March 5.

Prior to the release of official preliminary vote totals, several thousand Demirchian supporters staged an impromptu demonstration February 20 outside the CEC headquarters in Yerevan, during which they accused election officials of attempting to adjust voting totals to give Kocharian a first-round victory. The CEC's announcement on preliminary results ended up being delayed for several hours. CEC officials blamed winter weather conditions for the delay.

Kocharian opponents voiced complaints on election day about widespread voting irregularities, including ballot-stuffing. In one instance – according to Aleksander Butayev, campaign manager for candidate Vazgen Manukian – those showing up to vote in one Yerevan neighborhood were not permitted into the polling station. Instead, authorities seized their identity documents and returned them "only after