Ex-leader Kocharian votes for “Armenia’s future”

 May 6, 2012 - 15:38 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - At May 6 parliamentary elections, the 2nd Armenian President cast his ballot in Malatiya –Sebastiya community’s polling station.

As Robert Kocharian told journalists, he voted for the future of Armenia. “I had my glasses on – so my choice was a right one,” he said.

Asked to comment on the possibility of his return to power, he questioned, “do you want me at power? “

The ex-leader also refused to comment on his plans to run for president in 2013.

Parliamentary elections kicked off in Armenia. Citizens will elect 131 MPs of the next convocation of the National Assembly, with 90 of them running by proportional system and 41- by the majority system.

On May 6, 8 am, 1982 constituencies opened in the republic, where 2.484.003 registered voters may cast their votes for the electoral lists, as well as parliamentary candidates nominated by the majority system.

Parliamentary elections feature 8 political parties, Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), Prosperous Armenia, ARF Dashnaktsutyun (ARFD), Orinats Yerkir, Heritage, Democratic Party of Armenia (DPA), Communist Party of Armenia and United Armenians party, as well as one election bloc represented by opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC).

Armenian National Congress (ANC) must overcome 7% threshold as a bloc, unlike the parties, which need 5% threshold level.

647 international and over 31 thous. local observers will monitor the parliamentary elections in Armenia. OSCE/ODIHR (258 observers), OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (69), PACE (37), CIS Interparliamentary Assembly (22), as well as International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and SILBA international organization have deployed observer missions in Armenia.

The preliminary results will be published no later than 24 hours after the voting, with final results to be released on the seventh day starting the voting day.