Armenia president set to win re-election: exit poll

Yerevan (Armenia), Feb 18 (AFP) Armenia's incumbent President Serzh Sarkisian was set for a triumphant re-election Monday against a weakened opposition in polls seen as a crucial democratic test for the ex-Soviet state. Sarkisian, president since 2008, was set to win another five-year term with 58 per cent of the vote, an exit poll by Gallup said after close of polls. His nearest rival, former foreign minister Raffi Hovannisian, was set to come second with 32 per cent. Former prime minister Hrant Bagratian was on course for three percent as was the Soviet-era dissident Paruyr Hayrikyan, the exit poll said. Seen as a crucial democratic test for the ex-Soviet state, today's vote has been marked with the absence of strong opposition to the incumbent leader and shadowed by last month's mysterious assassination attempt against Hayrikyan which at one point risked derailing the holding of the ballot. "I voted today for Armenia's future -- for the well-being of our citizens and families," Sarkisian said after voting in a central polling station in the capital Yerevan. The authorities are hoping for a peaceful process that will improve the country's chances of European integration, after the vote that brought Sarkisian to power in 2008 ended in clashes in which 10 people died. Hovannisian earlier said the election marked "the most crucial day in our country's modern history" but denounced irregularities in voters' lists and voting procedures. The police dismissed his allegations as an "obvious fiction." Turnout was 49.81 per cent at 2030 IST, the Central Elections Commission said. Sarkisian, 59, is a veteran of the 1990s war with Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh and derives much of his popularity from a tough can-do militaristic image. Hovannisian, 54, was born in the United States and used to practise law in Los Angeles before moving to Armenia following its devastating earthquake of December 1988. "I voted for Serzh (Sarkisian). He can lead the army and take important decisions at the right moment," carpenter Vazgen Akobyan told AFP at a polling station in Yerevan. "I support Raffi Hovannisian. He has a Western mentality, he is intelligent, he promised to fight corruption and create new jobs," said another voter, unemployed Siranush Mnatsmkanyan. All the candidates have been busy making populist promises to fight poverty and unemployment. (AFP) SAI 02190104 NNNN