Western observers on Sunday hailed parliamentary elections in Armenia as a major democratic breakthrough for the ex-Soviet state, now set to be run by a coalition of pro-government parties that swept the vote.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said the vote was a clear improvement over previous polls in this small country wedged between Turkey and Iran. None of Armenia's elections had been deemed up to international standards since the country became independent with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

"These Armenian elections were an improvement over previous elections and were conducted largely in accordance with international standards," Tone Tingsgaard, one of the leaders of some 300 OSCE observers, said at a press conference.

In its report the OSCE said improvements include a "dynamic" election campaign "with extensive media coverage," few irregularities on election day and increased transparency in vote counting.

It added, however, that "some issues remain unaddressed" and noted "isolated cases of deliberate falsifications."

The conclusion was a triumph for President Robert Kocharian and his government, which had come under intense Western pressure to conduct a fair and open vote. Before the vote the United States threatened major cuts in foreign aid while the European Union warned of a rollback in relations with Yerevan.

Cuts in foreign aid could have been disastrous for Armenia, where more than 30 percent of people already live on less than two dollars (1.50 euros) a day.

Western support for the vote came as a major disappointment for opposition parties, which had hoped to use condemnation of the election as a springboard to contest the results.

The opposition claims violations were rife on election day, including instances of pro-government parties bribing voters outside polling stations.

Opposition parties had vowed to organize demonstrations Sunday if fraud was suspected, but there were few signs of protesters by early evening.

"We are still discussing what we will do," said Hovsep Khurshudian, a spokesman for the Heritage party, one of two opposition parties that won enough votes to sit in parliament. "Of course we are unhappy about the results. The results we calculated were much higher."

Opinion polls show Armenians are hungry for reform, but analysts say deep divisions in the opposition scuttled its chances of capitalizing on support for change. Those divisions, and widespread apathy, are expected to undercut opposition efforts to organize post-election demonstrations.

According to preliminary figures released by the Central Elections Commission Sunday, five parties crossed the five percent threshold of votes required to enter parliament -- three pro-government and two from the opposition.

With all the votes tallied, the Republican party of Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian was far ahead with 32.9 percent of the vote.

Sarkisian, Kocharian's chosen successor for president, is now the uncontested frontrunner in a presidential election set for the end of next year.

The pro-government Prosperous Armenia party of millionaire former world arm wrestling champion Gagik Tsarukian had 14.7 percent of the vote. It was followed by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, a member of the former ruling coalition, with 12.8 percent.

Anti-government parties trailed far behind. The Country of Law party of former speaker Artur Baghdasarian had 6.9 percent, followed by the Heritage of US-born former foreign minister Raffi Hovannisian with 5.8 percent.

About 1.3 million of Armenia's 2.3 million registered voters took part in the vote for 131 seats in parliament.

AFP