Armenian presidential candidates dispute vote

YEREVAN, Armenia –  Two presidential candidates in Armenia who lost to the incumbent are contesting the election results, saying they were unfair.

President Serge Sarkisian easily won a second five-year term in the Feb. 18 election with nearly 59 percent of the vote. American-born Raffi Hovanessian, who finished second with 37 percent, filed an appeal Monday in the Constitutional Court demanding the vote results be annulled.

Hovanessian, Armenia's first foreign minister after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, has called the election rigged, and declared himself the genuine winner. His supporters have held a series of rallies to back his demands.

Another of Sarkisian's six rivals, Andrias Gukasian, also contested the results Monday.

International monitors said the election "lacked competition," but noted improvements compared to the previous poll.

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