Yerevan (Armenia): Early preliminary results showed Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian ahead in Armenia's presidential election and on track to win the first round of voting outright, election officials have said.

With ballots from more than 10 per cent of precincts counted, Sarkisian had received 53 per cent of the vote, the Central Election Commission said, while his main opponent, Levon Ter-Petrosian, had received just 11 per cent.

Election officials were expected to continue counting ballots through the night and full preliminary results were not expected before today evening.

The election was marred by allegations from Ter-Petrosian that authorities had rigged the vote. The former president asserted that he was in fact the victor and called on supporters to rally in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, today, to protest the results and celebrate his win.

Sarkisian and Ter-Petrosian - Armenia's first president after the Soviet collapse - were the two top contenders vying to lead the South Caucasus nation, where more than a quarter of the population lives in poverty despite some economic progress in recent years.

With a population of about 3.2 million, Armenia is at the juncture of the energy-rich Caspian Sea region and southern Europe. That and its proximity to Iran, make it of strategic importance for the West and Russia.

Source : PTI