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Update: Turnout in Armenia parliamentary polls reaches 45.8%

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Some 45.8% of more than 2 million Armenian voters cast their votes in the country's fourth parliamentary elections by 5 p.m. local time (midday GMT), election authorities said Saturday.
YEREVAN, May 12 (RIA Novosti) - Some 45.8% of more than 2 million Armenian voters cast their votes in the country's fourth parliamentary elections by 5 p.m. local time (midday GMT), election authorities said Saturday.

Twenty-two parties and one election bloc are running for the 131-seat parliament in Armenia, which will face presidential elections next spring. About 53 local organizations and six international missions are monitoring the polls.

Alina Yengoyan, spokeswoman for the Court of Cassation, said the court had granted 68 complaints from voters who did not find their names on voter lists.

The Zharangutyun (Legacy) opposition party said it was collecting all alleged violations associated with the parliamentary elections.

"In the past month, we registered thousands of various violations, and we intend to name them using verified evidence, which we are collecting at our information center," said Raffi Ovannisyan, a former foreign minister and leader of the pro-Western party.

Another opposition party, New Times, accused the head of the National Security Service, of violating the election law by a televised statement, which said: "The authorities will not let the minority to impose its choice on the majority."

"This statement ... is direct pressure on the people of Armenia, which also seriously violates the Election Code," the party said.

New Times cited other irregularities in the voting process, including the lack of eligible voters in the lists, votes cast in favor of the pro-government Republican Party in the absence of those Armenian voters who are currently staying in Russia.

In the runup to the elections, thousands of opposition supporters gathered in the streets of Yerevan, the capital, Thursday to protest against the rule of President Robert Kocharyan and demand his resignation. The opposition also vowed to resume protests Sunday if the elections turned out to be fraudulent.

The favorite of the race is the Republican Party (HHK) of Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan, which is running together with pro-presidential Prosperous Armenia and Dashnatsutyun.

Apart from Zharangutyun and New Times, the major opposition parties also include Impeachment and Republic.

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