Rivals protest Armenian presidential vote

YEREVAN, Armenia, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- The opposition party leader in Armenia called for mass protests in the capital city Wednesday citing irregularities in the presidential elections.

Levon Ter-Petrossian, the first president of Armenia following its independence from the Soviet Union, prepared allegations the presidential elections were rigged, Euronews.net said. The current prime minister, Serzh Sargsyan, won nearly 53 percent of the vote.

Supporters of Ter-Petrossian insist he won the election and point to a government-backed voter-intimidation campaign as an indication the allegations the vote was unfair.

Outgoing Armenian President Robert Kocharian, who has been president since 1998, is expected to become the next prime minister. He couldn't run for a third term.

Euronews says fraud allegations followed many of the previous elections in Armenia.