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Voters turned out early this morning to vote under the watchful eye of its fallen heroes.

Outgoing president Robert Kocharyan promised equally fair conditions as a forecast for the process of the vote. If his promise holds, it would be the first time in at least four presidential elections that Armenia has achieved an election that meets international definitions of “free and fair”.

From the 1996 re-election of today’s leading oppositionist Levon Ter-Petroysan, to both elections placing Kocharyan in power, through constitutional referendum and parliamentary selections, fraud has always been the main feature of the Armenian political process.

As in past elections, several thousands foreign and local observers are on hand today to report incidents of wrongdoing. It was to the heads of those groups that Kocharyan made a pledge Monday.

In a meeting with representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) member countries in Armenia and European international structures, the president, according to his press service, said he is “determined” that today’s vote will be clean. Kocharyan has also vowed that he will engage necessary resources to shut down any disturbance that should erupt if the vote is perceived to be invalid.

Before the polls had even opened (8 a.m. today), at least one charge of falsification was already circulated.

Central Election Commission member Zoya Tadevosyan, who is affiliated with the opposition Heritage party, claims that a precinct in southern Yerevan illegally validated thousands of ballots on Monday. Tadevosyan claims that she tried to stop the validation, but was unsuccessful. Other party members present, including the ruling Republican Party of Armenia and Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaks) did not report any problems.