1996 Armenian presidential election

Last updated

1996 Armenian presidential election
Flag of Armenia.svg
  1991 22 September 1996 1998  
  Levon Ter-Petrosian.jpg Vazgen Manukyan.jpg
Nominee Levon Ter-Petrosyan Vazgen Manukyan
Party HHSh NDU
Popular vote646,888516,129
Percentage51.34%40.97%

President before election

Levon Ter-Petrosyan
HHSh

Elected President

Levon Ter-Petrosyan
HHSh

Presidential elections were held in Armenia on 22 September 1996. [1] The result was a victory for Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who received 51% of the vote. Turnout was 60%. [2]

Contents

Background

The 1996 presidential election was the second presidential election after Armenia's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. On 18 September 1996, few days before the election, the influential defense minister Vazgen Sargsyan 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." [3] The opposition parties (Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Paruyr Hayrikyan's Union for National Self-Determination, Aram Sargsyan's Democratic Party) consolidated around the former Karabakh Committee member and former prime minister Vazgen Manukyan. [4]

Conduct

Observation and monitoring organizations were mostly critical of the conduct of the elections. [5] [4] [6] [7] [8] The OSCE observation mission found "serious violations of the election law." [9]

Results

Following the elections, both Ter-Petrosyan and Manukyan claimed victory. [10] 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. [11]

CandidatePartyVotes%
Levon Ter-Petrosyan Pan-Armenian National Movement 646,88851.34
Vazgen Manukyan National Democratic Union 516,12940.97
Sergey Badalyan Armenian Communist Party 79,3476.30
Ashot Manucharyan Scientific-Industrial Civic Union7,5290.60
None of the above10,0120.79
Total1,259,905100.00
Valid votes1,259,90596.28
Invalid/blank votes48,6813.72
Total votes1,308,586100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,210,18959.21
Source: Nohlen et al.

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. [12]

Protests and aftermath

1996 Armenian protests
Date23 September 1996 – 2 October 1996
Location
Caused by
  • Alleged electoral fraud during the 1996 Armenian presidential election
  • Corruption
Goals
Methods Demonstrations
Resulted in
  • Protests suppressed by force
The National Assembly building in Yerevan Armenian National Assembly.jpg
The National Assembly building in Yerevan

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. [13] 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, 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 and vice-speaker Ara Sahakyan. [14] The security forces were brought into Yerevan to restore order. On the same day, Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsyan stated that "even if they [the opposition] win 100 percent of the votes, neither the Army nor the National Security and Interior Ministry would recognize such political leaders." [15] Sargsyan was later criticized by the West for this statement. Vazgen Sargsyan and Minister of National Security Serzh Sargsyan announced on public television that their respective agencies have prevented an attempted coup d'état. [14] The government sent tanks and troops to Yerevan to enforce the ban on rallies and demonstrations on 26 September 1996. [16] A number of opposition parliamentarians were stripped of legal immunity. [16] Manukyan appealed to the Constitutional Court with a request for a new election, but it was rejected. [14]

Later developments

In December 1998, Vano Siradeghyan, 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. [17] According to Siradeghyan, "the whole state apparatus was demoralized, paralyzed and no government was formed during [the ensuing] three months." [14] Siradeghyan also appeared to admit that government had resorted to vote-rigging to secure Ter-Petrosyan's victory without a runoff election. [18] [19] 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. [20]

From 1995 until his resignation in February 1998, Ter-Petrosyan was criticized for his alleged authoritarian rule. [21] History Professor Stephan H. Astourian of the University of California, Berkeley 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." [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vazgen Sargsyan</span> Armenian military commander, politician (1959–1999)

Vazgen Zaveni Sargsyan was an Armenian military commander and politician. He was the first Defence Minister of Armenia from 1991 to 1992 and then from 1995 to 1999. He served as Armenia's Prime Minister from 11 June 1999 until his assassination on 27 October of that year. He rose to prominence during the mass movement for the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia in the late 1980s and led Armenian volunteer groups during the early clashes with Azerbaijani forces. Appointed defence minister by President Levon Ter-Petrosyan soon after Armenia's independence from the Soviet Union in late 1991, Sargsyan became the most prominent commander of Armenian forces during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. In different positions, he regulated the military operations in the war area until 1994, when a ceasefire was reached ending the war with Armenian forces controlling almost all of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Kocharyan</span> Former leader of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Armenia

Robert Sedraki Kocharyan is an Armenian politician. He served as the President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from 1994 to 1997 and Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh from 1992 to 1994. He served as the second President of Armenia between 1998 and 2008 and as Prime Minister of Armenia from 1997 to 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republican Party of Armenia</span> Political party in Armenia

The Republican Party of Armenia is a national-conservative political party in Armenia led by the third president of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Levon Ter-Petrosyan</span> President of Armenia from 1991 to 1998

Levon Hakobi Ter-Petrosyan, also known by his initials LTP, is an Armenian politician and historian who served as the first president of Armenia from 1991 until his resignation in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pan-Armenian National Movement</span> Armenian political party

The Pan-Armenian National Movement or Armenian All-national Movement was a political party in Armenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serzh Sargsyan</span> Former President and Prime Minister of Armenia

Serzh Azati Sargsyan is an Armenian politician who served as the third President of Armenia from 2008 to 2018, and twice as the Prime Minister of Armenia from 2007 to 2008 and again from 17 to 23 April 2018, when he was forced to resign in the 2018 Armenian revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aram Sargsyan</span>

Aram Zaveni Sargsyan is an Armenian political figure. He was Prime Minister of Armenia from 3 November 1999 to 2 May 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vazgen Manukyan</span> Prime Minister of Armenia from 1990 to 1991

Vazgen Mikayeli Manukyan 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 Minister of Armenia. He was also a member of Armenia's parliament from 1990 to 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armenian parliament shooting</span> 1999 terrorist attack in Armenia

The 1999Armenian parliament shooting, commonly known in Armenia as October 27, was a terrorist  attack on the Armenian National Assembly in the capital of Yerevan on 27 October 1999 by a group of five armed men led by Nairi Hunanyan that, among others, killed the two de facto decision-makers in the country's political leadership—Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan and Parliament Speaker Karen Demirchyan. Their reform-minded coalition had won a majority in a parliamentary election held in May of that year and had practically sidelined President Robert Kocharyan from the political scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republic Square, Yerevan</span> Town square in Yerevan, Armenia

Republic Square is the central town square in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It consists of two sections: an oval roundabout and a trapezoid-shaped section which contains a pool with musical fountains. The square is surrounded by five major buildings built in pink and yellow tuff in the neoclassical style with extensive use of Armenian motifs. This architectural ensemble includes the Government House, the History Museum and the National Gallery, Armenia Marriott Hotel and two buildings that formerly housed the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Transport and Communications. The square was originally designed by Alexander Tamanian in 1924. The construction of most of the buildings was completed by the 1950s; the last building—the National Gallery—was completed in 1977.

Presidential elections were held in Armenia on 19 February 2008. Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan was elected in the first round according to official results, but this was disputed by former President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who was officially placed second.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikol Pashinyan</span> Prime Minister of Armenia since 2018

Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan is an Armenian politician serving as the prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018.

Aravot is a leading liberal and politically independent daily newspaper based in Yerevan, Armenia. It was founded in 1994. Its editor-in-chief is Aram Abrahamyan.

Presidential elections were held in Armenia on 16 March 1998, with a second round on 30 March. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Armenian protests</span>

The 2011 Armenian protests were a series of civil demonstrations aimed at provoking political reforms and concessions from both the government of Armenia and the civic government of Yerevan, its capital and largest city. Protesters demanded President Serzh Sargsyan release political prisoners, prosecute those responsible for the deaths of opposition activists after the 2008 presidential election and institute democratic and socioeconomic reforms, including the right to organise in Freedom Square in downtown Yerevan. They also protested against Yerevan Mayor Karen Karapetyan for banning the opposition from Freedom Square and barring vendors and traders from the city streets. The opposition bloc Armenian National Congress, which has played a major role in organising and leading the demonstrations, had also called for a snap election and the resignation of the government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Armenian presidential election</span> Presidential election in Armenia

Presidential elections were held in Armenia on 18 February 2013. In the run-up to the elections, Armenia's first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of the second largest parliamentary party Prosperous Armenia, withdrew from the race in December 2012. Many believed that no candidate would be able to challenge incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan, others stated that people see "absence of alternatives" and these factors caused great apathy among the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yerkrapah</span> Military unit

Yerkrapah Volunteer Union or Yerkrapah Union of Veterans, meaning Defenders of the Land, is an Armenian non-governmental group that consisted of 6,000 veterans of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, formed by Vazgen Sargsyan. The Yerkrapah is a large and influential veteran group. The Yerkrapah Union was actively involved in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, although after the death of Sargsyan, Yerkrapah's influence in Armenian politics began to decline. Yerkrapah had incorporated between 5,000 and 30,000 veterans. According to Thomas de Waal, after 1994 "the veterans' group Yerkrapah became the most powerful organization in the country."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vano Siradeghyan</span> Armenian politician and writer (1946–2021)

Vano Smbati Siradeghyan was an Armenian politician and writer. He held several high-ranked positions in the 1990s. He served as Minister of Internal Affairs from 1992 and 1996 and as Mayor of Yerevan from 1996 to 1998. After President Levon Ter-Petrosyan's resignation in February 1998, criminal charges were filed against Siradeghyan. He disappeared in April 2000 and was wanted by Interpol until his death in 2021 at the age of 74. Today, Siradeghyan is seen as one of the most influential and controversial figures of post-Soviet Armenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hambardzum Galstyan</span> Armenian politician and historian (1955–1994)

Hambardzum Paylaki Galstyan was an Armenian politician and historian who served as the Chairman of the Yerevan City Council from 1990 to 1992 and was a prominent member of the Karabakh Committee. He was murdered by unknown assailants in December 1994.

References

  1. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p. 329 ISBN   0-19-924958-X
  2. Nohlen et al., p. 336
  3. "1996 թվականի սեպտեմբեր [September 1996]". Azg Daily (in Armenian). 26 September 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Armenia: After the 1996 Presidential Elections". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 1 March 1997. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  5. Astourian, Stephan H. (2001). From Ter-Petrosian to Kocharian: Leadership Change in Armenia (PDF). University of California, Berkeley. p. 43. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  6. "Armenian Chief Is Winner". The New York Times . 30 September 1996. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  7. Hughes, James R. (2002). Ethnicity and territory in the former Soviet Union: regions in conflict. London: Cass. p. 152. ISBN   9780714682105.
  8. "Armenian Presidential Elections September 24, 1996 Final Report". Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights . Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  9. Columbus, Frank H. (1999). Central and Eastern Europe in transition. 3 (1999). Commack, NY: Nova Publishers. p. 107. ISBN   9781560726876.
  10. "Incumbent claims victory in Armenian elections". CNN. 23 September 1996. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  11. "Armenians Cast Ballots in Presidential Election". The New York Times . 23 September 1996. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  12. "Если бы выборы в Армении были честными? Альтернативный подсчет. 1990-е гг". kavkaz-uzel.eu (in Russian). 16 December 2018. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019.
  13. Astourian 2001, p. 44.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Astourian 2001, p. 45.
  15. Human rights watch world report 1997: events of 1996. New York: Human Rights Watch. 1997. p. 198. ISBN   9781564322074.
  16. 1 2 Jeffries, Ian (2003). The Caucasus and Central Asian Republics at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century: A guide to the economies in transition. New York: Routledge. p. 57. ISBN   9780203358474.
  17. Danielyan, Emil (9 January 1999). "Armenia: 1996 Presidential Election Was Rigged, Aide Suggests". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  18. Danielyan, Emil (9 January 1999). "Armenia: 1996 Presidential Election Was Rigged, Aide Suggests". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2013. There, he said, they received what he called "distressing news" from local election precincts that indicated Ter-Petrossian had not won a majority of votes, and that a second-round run-off would therefore be necessary.. According to Siradeghian, he then asked Defense Minister Vazgen Sarkisian, "Is Levon ready for a second round?" Sarkisian said: 'No, he is not ready.' And in fact, the second round did not take place."
  19. Danielyan, Emil (9 January 1999). "Armenia: Ter-Petrossian Criticizes Charges Against Old Ally". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  20. "Ter Petrosyan Denies Defense Minister's Resignation Rumors". Asbarez . 20 February 1997. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  21. Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia: 2003. Taylor & Francis. 2002. pp. 79–80. ISBN   9781857431377.