Voting at one polling station in Yerevan interrupted for while by incident

YEREVAN, February 18. /ARKA/. Voting at 02/08 polling station in Yerevan was interrupted for a while by an incident.

Gurgen Khachatryan, head of this station’s election commission, told Novosti-Armenia International News Agency that a key stuck and broke in the lock of the safe with ballot-papers and envelopes.   

“It became necessary to open the safe with a cutting tool,” he said. “Everything was done very quickly, and citizens got their ballot papers and envelopes in 10 or 15 minutes.”

The voting in the presidential election is taking place in 1,988 polling stations. 

According to the information received from the Armenian Central Election Commission, 836,710 people or 33.09% of those eligible to vote have already visited polling stations by 14:00 local time. 

Serzh Sargsyan, the Armenian president in office; Hrant Bagratyan, a former prime minister and the leader of Freedom party; Raffi Hovannisian, a former foreign minister and the leader of Heritage party; Paruyr Hayrikyan, a prominent Soviet-era dissident and the head of the National Self-Determination Party; Arman Melikyan, a former foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Andrias Ghukasyan, a political analyst and head of Radio Hay, and Vardan Sedrakyan, a specialist in epics are competing for presidency. -0-