Ruling party wins general election
Pro-presidential parties won a large majority in the Armenian parliamentary election, a poll that monitors said was fair and which confirmed support for the prime minister.
The Republican Party, led by Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan, won control of about 40% of the 131 seats in parliament.
Sargsyan, a 52-year-old former welder and a trusted lieutenant of President Robert Kocharyan, previously served as defense minister.
This was the first election the former Soviet republic has held that Western observers said was fair.
The 2003 parliamentary election was described as below democratic standards.
On Wednesday police fired tear gas to break up an opposition rally in central Yerevan, where demonstrators had protested against what they said would be a rigged election.
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