Raffi Hovhannisian’s rallying supporters head to Armenian presidential palace

YEREVAN, February 21. /ARKA/. Rallying supporters of Armenian opposition Heritage party leader Raffi Hovannisian who disputes the outcome of the February 18 presidential elections officially giving victory to incumbent president are heading to the presidential palace.

Hovannisian said he intended to meet with Sargsyan today. Wednesday Hovannisian made a statement that his supporters would be waiting for the incumbent president to come to the Liberty Square for “volunteer transfer of power”.

Earlier, the leader of Heritage party told a press conference he was ready to meet with Sargsyan on the matter, no matter in public or tet-a-tet.

Wednesday spokesman of the president Armen Arzumanyan said Sargsyan was willing to receive Hovannisian any time convenient to leader of Heritage.

“Right now I’m heading for talks with him to find a way out of the all-national crisis, the illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional situation our people and the state find themselves now” Hovannisian told his supporters, after having negotiated with the police over illegality of the no-permit rally at the Liberty Square.

Hovannisian concluded that as a president-elect he should obey the law.

“We’ll be meeting here tomorrow at 17:00 at a rally permitted by the municipality” he told his supporters today.

According to preliminary results of the elections, Armenia’s incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan won re-election Monday with 861,378 votes or 58.64%. His main opposition challenger Raffi Hovannisian polled 539,674 votes or 36.74%. –0--