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
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