Armenians are voting Monday for a new president.
Incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan is widely expected to win. His victory would give another five years to the already 13-year rule of his Republican Party in the small Caucasus nation.
In a rarity for the former Soviet republics, Armenia is having a genuine multi-party contest. The race, however, has been rocky for the landlocked nation of about 3 million people.
Of the eight original candidates, one has dropped out, a second refuses to vote, a third also refuses to vote and is on a hunger strike, a fourth was shot and wounded in an apparent assassination attempt, and a fifth fears arrest after Monday's vote because he knew the suspected shooter.
Of the last three candidates, two were charging fraud even before the first ballot was cast.
Incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan is widely expected to win. His victory would give another five years to the already 13-year rule of his Republican Party in the small Caucasus nation.
In a rarity for the former Soviet republics, Armenia is having a genuine multi-party contest. The race, however, has been rocky for the landlocked nation of about 3 million people.
Of the eight original candidates, one has dropped out, a second refuses to vote, a third also refuses to vote and is on a hunger strike, a fourth was shot and wounded in an apparent assassination attempt, and a fifth fears arrest after Monday's vote because he knew the suspected shooter.
Of the last three candidates, two were charging fraud even before the first ballot was cast.
