Armenian presidential election, 1996
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Presidential elections were held in
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
on 22 September 1996. The result was a victory for
Levon Ter-Petrosyan Levon Hakobi Ter-Petrosyan ( hy, Լևոն Հակոբի Տեր-Պետրոսյան; born 9 January 1945), also known by his initials LTP, is an Armenian politician who served as the first president of Armenia from 1991 until his resignation in 1998 ...
, who received 51% of the vote. Turnout was 60%.


Background

The 1996 presidential election was the second presidential election after Armenia's independence from the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
in 1991. On 18 September 1996, few days before the election, the influential defense minister
Vazgen Sargsyan Vazgen Zaveni Sargsyan ( hy, Վազգեն Զավենի Սարգսյան, ; 5 March 1959 – 27 October 1999) was an Armenian military commander and politician. He was the first Defence Minister of Armenia from 1991 to 1992 and then from ...
stated that he is "satisfied with the situation." Addressing Ter-Petrosyan's supporters, he proclaimed that Armenia "will enter the 21st century victoriously and stable with Ter-Petrosyan." The opposition parties (
Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( hy, Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն, ՀՅԴ ( classical spelling), abbr. ARF or ARF-D) also known as Dashnaktsutyun (collectively referred to as Dashnaks for short), is an Armenian ...
, Paruyr Hayrikyan's
Union for National Self-Determination Union for National Self-Determination ( hy, Ազգային ինքնորոշում միավորում; ''Azgayin ink’noroshum miavorum'') is an Armenian political party. It was founded in 1987 by Paruyr Hayrikyan, a Soviet dissident seeking indep ...
,
Aram Sargsyan Aram Zaveni Sargsyan ( hy, Արամ Զավենի Սարգսյան; 2 January 1961) is an Armenian political figure. He was Prime Minister of Armenia from 3 November 1999 to 2 May 2000. He is the younger brother of Vazgen Sargsyan. In 2001, he fou ...
's Democratic Party) consolidated around the former
Karabakh Committee Karabakh Committee ( hy, Ղարաբաղ կոմիտե) was a group of Armenian intellectuals recognized by many Armenians as the ''de facto'' leaders in the late 1980s. The Committee was formed in 1988, with the stated objective of reunification of ...
member and former prime minister
Vazgen Manukyan Vazgen Mikayeli Manukyan (Armenian: , born 13 February 1946) is an Armenian politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Armenia from 1990 to 1991. From 1992 to 1993, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, Manukyan was acting Defence Min ...
.


Conduct

Observation and monitoring organizations were mostly critical of the conduct of the elections. The
OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
observation mission found "serious violations of the election law."


Results

Following the elections, both Ter-Petrosyan and Manukyan claimed victory. Official results by the Central Electoral Commission recorded Ter-Petrosyan's victory in the first round with just above 50% of the total vote in favor of the incumbent.


Analysis

Hrant Mikayelian, researcher at the Caucasus Institute, noted that in precincts where turnout was lower than 64% Manukyan received 49.6% of the votes, while Ter-Petrosyan received 41.1%. Mikayelian notes that while it is clear that widespread falsifications took place, it is impossible to say with certainty that Manukyan actually received over 50% of the votes in the first round.


Protests and aftermath

The leading opposition candidate Vazgen Manukyan officially received 41% of the vote. Claiming electoral fraud by the incumbent Ter-Petrosyan, Manukyan and his supporters began mass demonstrations in the afternoon of 23 September. An estimated of 200,000 people gathered in Freedom Square to protest the election results. On 25 September, 150,000 to 200,000 of gathered in the same square in support of Manukyan. Manukyan led the demonstrators to
Baghramyan Avenue Marshal Baghramyan Avenue ( hy, Մարշալ Բաղրամյան Պողոտա) is an avenue in the central Kentron and the northwestern Arabkir districts of Yerevan, Armenia. The avenue is named after the Soviet Armenian commander and Marshal o ...
, where the parliament building is located (the Electoral Commission was inside the building at the time). Later during the day, the protesters broke the fence surrounding the Armenian parliament and got into the building. They beat up the parliament speaker
Babken Ararktsyan Babken Ararktsyan ( hy, Բաբկեն Գուրգենի Արարքցյան, born September 16, 1944) is an Armenian politician. He was the former Chairman of the Supreme Council from 1991 to 1995 and Speaker of the National Assembly In poli ...
and vice-speaker Ara Sahakyan. The security forces were brought into
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...
to restore order. On the same day, Defense Minister
Vazgen Sargsyan Vazgen Zaveni Sargsyan ( hy, Վազգեն Զավենի Սարգսյան, ; 5 March 1959 – 27 October 1999) was an Armenian military commander and politician. He was the first Defence Minister of Armenia from 1991 to 1992 and then from ...
stated that "even if they he oppositionwin 100 percent of the votes, neither the Army nor the National Security and Interior Ministry would recognize such political leaders." Sargsyan was later criticized by the West for this statement. Vazgen Sargsyan and Minister of National Security
Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...
announced on public television that their respective agencies have prevented an attempted coup d'état. The government sent tanks and troops to Yerevan to enforce the ban on rallies and demonstrations on 26 September 1996. A number of opposition parliamentarians were stripped of legal immunity. Manukyan appealed to the Constitutional Court with a request for a new election, but it was rejected.


Later developments

In December 1998,
Vano Siradeghyan Vano Smbati Siradeghyan ( hy, Վանո Սմբատի Սիրադեղյան; November 13, 1946 – October 15, 2021) was an Armenian politician and writer. He held several high-ranked positions in the 1990s. He served as Minister of Internal Affai ...
, one of Ter-Petrosyan's closest allies and interior minister at the time of the 1996 election, claimed in an interview that Ter-Petrosyan fell into a three-month depression following the election and wanted him and Vazgen Sargsyan to resign. According to Siradeghyan, "the whole state apparatus was demoralized, paralyzed and no government was formed during he ensuingthree months." Siradeghyan also appeared to admit that government had resorted to vote-rigging to secure Ter-Petrosyan's victory without a runoff election. Siradeghyan left the position of interior minister in November 1996 and was appointed mayor of Yerevan, while Vazgen Sargsyan remained as defense minister after the election, despite rumors that he was to resign. From 1995 until his resignation in February 1998, Ter-Petrosyan was criticized for his alleged authoritarian rule. History Professor Stephan H. Astourian of the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
suggests that after crushing popular protest by "military force, legal recourse had been perverted, and a president had been elected fraudulently." Astourian claims that the elections "tarnished Ter-Petrosian's image, but the West did not dwell on the problem" as "a weak president has his uses." The West increased the pressure on the non-democratically elected president on the Karabakh issue. Astourian believes that "even more than his image in the West, it was the president's own self-image, his 'ego ideal,' that was tarnished."


References


External links


Ի՞նչ տեղի ունեցավ 1996–ի սեպտեմբերի 25-ին
{{Armenian presidential elections
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
Presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...
Presidential elections in Armenia 1990s in Armenian politics