According to exit polls in Armenia, Sarkisyan defeats Ter-Petrosyan

Prime minister of Armenia Serzh Sarkisyan has won the first round of presidential election. According to exit polls, his main rival  Levon Ter-Petrosyan has gathered 17.04% of voters.

The Reuters informs with reference to the British Company Populus, which worked under the order of the Public TV of Armenia, Sarkisyan has won 57.01% of the votes.

We remind you that at 8:00 p.m. Yerevan time (7:00 p.m. Moscow time) all the 1923 polling stations in Armenia were closed.

It is expected that the final results of voter turnout will be announced by the Central Electoral Commission toward the evening.

According to the Constitution of Armenia, the new President shall be elected 50 days prior to the end of the term of office of the predecessor - the current Republic's leader Robert Kocharyan, who is finishing his second presidential mandate.

Let us note here that the State Office of Public Prosecutor of Armenia has initiated five criminal cases on facts of hindering the work of electoral commissions and election agents of presidential candidates. Journalists have learnt about it at the press service of the prosecutor's office. The office has also reported that one of the cases was initiated against the election agents of the presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who interfered into the normal course of voting at a polling station.

The Gazeta.Ru reports that a criminal case was also initiated on the fact of kidnapping and beating of one of Ter-Petrosyan's election agents right from Polling Station 28/07 in Abovyan.

The presidential election started in Armenia today in the morning. The "Caucasian Knot" has already informed that 9 candidates stood for the post of the president: Serzh Sarkisyan, the present Prime Minister and chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia; Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the first President of Armenia; Arthur Bagdasaryan, Vazgen Manukyan and Tigran Karapetyan - leaders of the Parties "Country of Law", National-Democratic Union and People's Party, accordingly; Arman Melikyan, ex-minister of foreign affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR); Aram Arutyunyan, Chairman of the "National Consent" Party; Vaan Ovannisyan, vice-speaker of the National Assembly and representative of the Bureau of the Armenian National Front (ANF) "Dashnaktsutyun"; and Artashes Gegamyan, Chairman of the "National Unity" Party.