By RIA Novosti
Yerevan : Serzh Sarkisyan was sworn in as Armenian president on Wednesday as the former Soviet republic looked to put recent electoral violence behind it.
Thousands of supporters of Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who was defeated by then Prime Minister Sarkisyan in the February 19 presidential elections, rallied the day after the polls, claiming that they had been rigged and demanding a rerun and access to national television.
Sarkisyan denied the allegations, insisting that he had won the presidential elections fairly.
On March 1, when protests turned violent, President Robert Kocharyan declared a state of emergency which lasted until March 20. Armenian authorities said last Wednesday that eight people had been killed and 265 wounded in the protests.
Sarkisyan’s inauguration was attended by Armenian government officials, MPs, representatives of 12 international organizations and delegations from 58 countries. The Russian delegation was led by State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov.
Matthew Bryza, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, also took part.
“A political coalition has been formed and the candidacy of prime minister chosen on the initiative of Armenian President Serzh Sarkisyan, and the country’s government will be formed next week,” said Tigran Torosyan, speaker of the National Assembly.
At a meeting on Tuesday the Council of Armenia’s ruling Republican Party voted unanimously in favor of Tigran Sarkisyan, the Central Bank chief, for premier.