By REUTERS
YEREVAN, Armenia, Feb. 19 — Using see-through ballot boxes to help fight fraud, Armenia voted today for a president, who will have to tackle the protracted dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region with Azerbaijan and revive a ravaged economy.
Opinion polls in the former Soviet republic, which is situated in a region important to Western oil interests, showed that the incumbent, Robert Kocharian, was likely to clear the 50 percent mark needed for a first-round victory over eight rivals.
Mr. Kocharian, 48, has been in power since 1998 in this country of 3.2 million. “I never step into battle without counting” his chances, he told reporters after voting, but he avoided further questions.
His main rivals are Artashes Geghamian, the Communist-era mayor of Yerevan, and Stepan Demirchian, the son of a Soviet-era leader, Karen Demirchian, who challenged Mr. Kocharian in 1998.
“I am going to vote for Kocharian as I like how he works and I want stability,” said Gagik Barsegian, 53, a driver from Yerevan. “Another candidate could destroy everything.”
Previous voting in Armenia has been marked by intimidation and ballot-box stuffing.
Many voters cast their ballots in transparent boxes imported from the West as part of efforts to ensure a clean vote.
Four of Mr. Kocharian’s opponents, including his two main rivals, issued a statement today saying that they had witnessed large-scale voting irregularities that showed “free and fair elections and the country’s international image” were in danger.
Whatever the outcome, analysts say, new talks over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region are unlikely until after elections in Azerbaijan in November.
Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan in 1988. Six years of fighting left more than 35,000 dead and nearly a million homeless, with Armenian forces seizing much territory. A cease-fire took hold in 1994, but no long-term solution has proven attainable, despite recent attempts by Russia, the United States and France to mediate.
Armenia has a close strategic relationship with Russia. The United States, which has considerable oil interests in the region, has made it clear that it wants a fair vote that will produce leadership able to tackle the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.
But for most voters, the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is secondary to raising living standards. Average monthly salaries stand at the equivalent of $40.
“I want Stepan Demirchian to be our president,” said Sevan Ayvasian, 64, an engineer from Yerevan. “I believe that he will fight corruption and restore order in our country.”
Armenia relies on support from up to six million ethnic Armenians in the United States. Two million ethnic Armenians live in Russia, and virtually all candidates call for close ties with Moscow.
Surveys predicted a turnout of over 70 percent and there were long lines at polling booths despite bad weather.
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