YEREVAN. – Electoral commotions are normal for Armenia, Caucasus Institute Director, political scientist Alexander Iskandaryan said during Monday’s Moscow-Yerevan live television bridge.

“[Opposition Heritage Party Chairman] Raffi Hovannisian [who is declared runner-up to the winner, incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan, as a result of the presidential election that was conducted on February 18, but who claims to be the real winner in the vote] declared himself ‘President’ of Armenia, whereas the large-scale election irregularities likewise are natural since 1995,” Iskandaryan stated.       

He stressed that Hovannisian, who does not recognize the official results of the election, received a great number of votes. But, in achieving this, he garnered not solely his own ballots, but also those of other political forces that did not run in the voting.

To note, in line with official results, the head of the Heritage Party received 37 percent of the votes that were cast on February 18. And on Monday, Raffi Hovannisian’s political team will submit to the Constitutional Court a petition with a formal request to declare the recent presidential election null and void. 

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am