Thousands protest over Armenia election result

YEREVAN-Thousands protested in Armenia's capital on Wednesday against a presidential election they said was rigged in favor of Prime Minister Serzh Sarksyan, but Western observers called it broadly fair.Sarksyan has promised to pursue the policies of outgoing President Robert Kocharyan, his close ally. The new leader's biggest challenges will be a simmering territorial conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan and frozen ties with Turkey.Sarksyan took 52.86 percent of the votes, the Central Election Committee said, giving him enough to win outright in the first round.Nearest rival Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Armenia's first president after independence from the Soviet Union, had 21.5 percent.Armenia is squeezed between Turkey and Azerbaijan in a region that is emerging as an important transit route for oil exports from the Caspian Sea to world markets, though Armenia has no pipelines of its own."Yesterday's presidential election in Armenia was conducted mostly in line with the country's international commitments," observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said in a statement. "Further improvements are necessary to address remaining challenges," it added.Earlier, Kocharyan congratulated 53-year-old Sarksyan on his victory in what he called free and fair elections.

To read more go to:

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL2061109420080220

As in the days of Noah.....