Separatist issue overshadows Armenia's election

Polls suggest Sarksyan, 53, has the support of more than 50 percent of voters. He says he hopes to win outright and avoid a second round run-off.

Observers predict that if Sarksyan is elected, his rule will be a continuation of Kocharyan's ten-year tenure, marked by economic growth and a firm stance towards Azerbaijan and Turkey.

If elected, Sarksyan will have to deal with the so-called "frozen" conflict over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

His main challenger is former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan who led the country through the first painful years of separation from the Soviet Union but was forced to resign in 1998.

But analysts say the failure of the opposition to unite around a single candidate has boosted Sarksyan's chances.

/EuroNews/