Armenian presidential election, 1998
Armenian presidential election, 1998
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| March 30, 1998 (1998-03-30) |
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Presidential elections were held in Armenia on 16 March 1998, with a second round on 30 March.[1] The result was a victory for independent candidate Robert Kocharyan, who won 58.9% of the vote in the second round. Turnout was 63.5% in the first round and 68.1% in the second.[2]
Overview
The first round was held on 16 March 1998.[3] Prime Minister and acting President Robert Kocharyan and Karen Demirchyan, the leader of Soviet Armenia from 1974 to 1988, won the most number of votes: 38.5% and 30.5% respectively.[4] Demirchyan, who came in second, had been absent from politics for 10 years and had been in business.[5]
Demirchyan was seen as a good old man from the Soviet times who could "return to the certainties of the past and distaste for mafia capitalism personified by Ter-Petrosyan's rule."[5] Demirchyan was very popular among the Armenian public.[6][7][8] A poll quoted by Western diplomats, showed that Demirchyan had the support of the 53% of Armenians, while Kocharyan was favored by only 36%.[9] He was also preferable for the West, since he had more moderate approach to the Karabakh conflict settlement, while Kocharyan was seen as a vivid nationalist.[5]
The second round of the election was held on March 30 between Kocharyan and Demirchyan. Kocharyan won with 58.9% of the vote. The final results showed Demirchyan having only 40.1% of the vote.[4] The British Helsinki Human Rights Group claimed that "ordinary Armenians turned to Robert Kocharian as someone untainted by mafia connections and the intrigues of Yerevan politics."[5] The OSCE observation mission described the first round as "deeply flawed,"[10] while their final report stated that the mission found "serious flaws" and that the election did not meet the OSCE standards.[11] Although Demirchyan didn't officially dispute the election results, he never accepted them and did not congratulate Kocharyan.[12][13]
Results
| Candidate |
Party |
First round |
Second round |
|---|
| Votes |
% |
Votes |
% |
| Robert Kocharyan | Independent | 545,938 | 38.5 | 908,613 | 58.9 |
| Karen Demirchyan | Socialist Party | 431,967 | 30.5 | 618,764 | 40.1 |
| Vazgen Manukyan | National Democratic Union | 172,449 | 12.2 | |
| Sergey Badalyan | Armenian Communist Party | 155,023 | 10.9 |
| Paruyr Hayrikyan | Union for National Self-Determination | 76,212 | 5.4 |
| David Shamazaryan | Independent | 6,798 | 0.5 |
| Artashes Geghamyan | National Accord Party | 6,314 | 0.4 |
| Vigen Khachatryan | Democratic Liberal Party of Armenia | 3,999 | 0.3 |
| Hrant Khachatryan | Constitutional Rights Union | 2,943 | 0.2 |
| Aram Gaspar Sargsyan | Democratic Party of Armenia | 2,710 | 0.2 |
| Yuri Mkrtchyan | Independent | 2,511 | 0.2 |
| Ashot Bleyan | New Path | 1,559 | 0.1 |
| None of the above | 9,509 | 0.7 | 14,890 | 1.0 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 38,177 | - | 25,435 | - |
| Total | 1,456,109 | 100 | 1,567,702 | 100 |
| Source: Nohlen et al. |
References
- ↑ Nohlen, D, Grotz, F & Hartmann, C (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p329 ISBN 0-19-924958-X
- ↑ Nohlen, D, Grotz, F & Hartmann, C (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p337 ISBN 0-19-924958-X
- ↑ "Armenians to choose new president today". Hürriyet Daily News. 16 March 1998. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
- 1 2 "Summer 1998". Elections Today. International Foundation for Electoral Systems. 7 (4): 26. ISSN 1073-6719.
- 1 2 3 4 The Armenian Parliamentary Elections, 30th May 1999 (PDF). British Helsinki Human Rights Group. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
- ↑ Reeve, Philip (16 March 1998). "Slick old fox set for comeback in Armenia poll". The Independent. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
- ↑ "Armenians vote for president Monday". CNN. 15 March 1998. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
- ↑ "Strong turnout as Armenians choose president". CNN. 16 March 1998. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
- ↑ Bennett, Vanora (31 March 1998). "Armenians Vote for New President". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
- ↑ "Armenian elections go to run-off". BBC News. 19 March 1998. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ↑ "Republic of Armenian Presidential Election March 16 and 30, 1998 Final Report". Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. 9 April 1998. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ↑ Report on Armenia's parliamentary election May 30, 1999 (PDF). Washington, DC: Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. p. 5. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
- ↑ "Key Armenian leaders assassinated". The Jamestown Foundation. 28 October 1999. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
Although he considered himself cheated of victory, Demirchian tacitly accepted that outcome, bid his time and ultimately went for a deal with the party of power--Sarkisian's Republicans.
External links
