Sargsyan Suggests Coalition Government

AFP reports that president elect Serge Sargsyan has offered his political rivals the opportunity for form a coalition government in Armenia. The offer was made in an attempt to defuse rising tension in the country.

Official results from the election gave victory to Sarkisian, the prime minister, with 53% of the vote. Former president Ter-Petrosian came second with 21.5%.

Ter-Petrosian has alleged that dozens of his activists were beaten and that ballot stuffing, multiple voting and voter intimidation were widespread on election day.

But observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe described the election as “mostly” in line with international standards.

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“I will protect the right to hold demonstrations, but this does not mean that life in the capital should be paralyzed,” he said. “We will be decisive so that life in the capital becomes normal.”

On Saturday outgoing President Robert Kocharian, a close ally of Sarkisian, described the protests as an attempt at an illegal power grab and promised the government’s response would be “decisive.”

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Several opposition activists have been detained since Saturday for allegedly possessing illegal weapons. On Monday police ordered the closing of some of Ter- Petrosian’s offices, according to his campaign staff.