Armenia: Opposition Contests Election Results

Armenia's former president Levon Ter-Petrosian has dismissed Yerevan's May 31 City Council elections as rigged after his Armenian National Congress (ANC) ran a distant third in the vote count, according to preliminary results.

"[The ANC] will contest [the] results of the election and will continue its struggle, with [the] resignation of [President] Serzh Sargsyan being the ultimate goal," the opposition coalition said a statement issued June 2, and posted on the pro-opposition A1plus news website.

The governing Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) garnered up to 50 percent of the vote, while the ANC received a modest 17.5 percent, the Arminfo website reported. The results cost Ter-Petrosian the chance of becoming Yerevan's mayor. If the preliminary results hold, incumbent Mayor Gagik Beglarian, an RPA member, will retain the post.