Looks like the elections are over in my native banana republic of Armenia and they were free and unfair. I do not know about the extent of ballot stuffing and voter number falsifications (these are usually a secret as they are done in the dark when the electricity to the locations where the counting takes place is turned off for a few minutes). The results are as predicted by President Kocharian; he is either a major psychic gifted with omniscience, or it was all designed beforehand.
Even if all the numbers quoted by the Central Electoral Commission are reflective of the reality, it is obvious that Armenia is far from being a country where I would want to live. The main tool of this election was massive vote buying. People sold their future for up to $50 a head. There were some reports of the leading parties, in particular Dodi Gago's 'Prosperous Armenia', stiffing their voters and not giving the money but overall I think they kept their word. I don't know if this qualifies as 'trickle down' distribution of wealth but one thing is sure: there will be a barbeque boom for the next week. In addition to the pot bellied officials having feasts to celebrate their victory, the ordinary folk will be able to buy some meat and enjoy a nice meal.
As for the opposition, I think they are demoralized as I think they still have not grasped the game they are in. It looked like they did not have a plan after had lost. The next protest they want to hold is this Friday; by then it will be too late to achieve anything as everybody will have forgotten about the farce that was the elections.
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