YEREVAN.- Former presidential candidate, leader of Heritage party Raffi Hovannisian has arrived in Etchmiadzin to meet with voters.

“Count the closed doors – the doors of people who left Armenia to earn their living in Russia and the U.S. We will work to turn Armenia into a country where people return,” he said, thanking residents of Etchmiadzin for their support during the February 18 presidential elections.

Hovannisian has not recognized his defeat and is holding mass protests calling to announce election results invalid. 

He said Putin, the U.S. and France, as well as Catholicos of All Armenians and Aram I of the Holy See of Cilicia, hurried to congratulate incumbent presidents.

 “They have to deal with spiritual issues. It is not an issue of Serzh Sargsyan or Raffi Hovannisian, not Russia or America.  It is the issue of people, and they returned the power,” he said.

Armenia’s Central Electoral Committee confirmed on Monday a protocol on final results of the February 18 presidential elections. Incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan won elections in the first round, getting 58.64 percent (861,373 votes). Head of Heritage Party Raffi Hovannisian was the second with 36.75 percent of voters (539,693).