Transdniestr former parliament speaker wins presidential electionDecember 26, 2011 - 09:50 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The ex-speaker of the Transdniestr parliament, Yevgeny Shevchuk, will become the breakaway republic's second president after garnering 73.88 percent of the vote in Sunday's, Dec 25 runoff election, a source in Transdniestr's Central Election Commission told RIA Novosti, citing preliminary results. His opponent, Supreme Council Chairman Anatoly Kaminsky, received 19.67 percent of the vote. Another 4.45 percent of those casting ballots voted against both candidates. The winner of the election will serve as Transdniestr's president for the next five years. The Central Election Commission says it will announce official, preliminary results of the vote count at 10:00 a.m. local time on Monday. The final results will be available in three days, the commission said. Shevchuk and Kaminsky faced off in the runoff after taking 38.55 percent and 26.3 percent of the vote respectively in the first round on December 11. Outgoing president Igor Smirnov garnered 24.66 percent of the vote in the first round. Election officials rejected his appeal to declare the vote invalid, saying there were no grounds to do so, RIA Novosti reported. The Russian-speaking region gained de facto independence from Moldova in 1992. A joint peacekeeping force of the Russian, Moldovan and Transdniestr contingents has been deployed in the area. Transdniestr is seeking full independence, but Moldova says it is only prepared to allow autonomy. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Armenia Security Council chief traveling to Qatar Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan will travel on a working visit to Qatar. Armenian Foreign Minister regrets “tragic loss” of Iranian counterpart The Armenian Foreign Ministry has expressed shock over the death of the Iranian President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Armenian PM sends condolences to Iran Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a message of condolence to the Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Armenia, Turkey discuss restoration of historic bridge The meeting took place on May 17 in Ashgabat on the sidelines of an international conference of ministers of culture. |