[10] Official results by the Central Electoral Commission recorded Ter-Petrosyan's victory in the first round with just above 50% of the total vote in favor of the incumbent.

Mikayelian notes that while it is clear that widespread falsifications took place, it is impossible to say with certainty that Manukyan actually received over 50% of the votes in the first round.

Claiming electoral fraud by the incumbent Ter-Petrosyan, Manukyan and his supporters began mass demonstrations in the afternoon of 23 September.

On the same day, Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsyan stated that "even if they [the opposition] win 100 percent of the votes, neither the Army nor the National Security and Interior Ministry would recognize such political leaders.

"[14] Siradeghyan also appeared to admit that government had resorted to vote-rigging to secure Ter-Petrosyan's victory without a runoff election.

[21] History Professor Stephan H. Astourian of the University of California, Berkeley suggests that after crushing popular protest by "military force, legal recourse had been perverted, and a president had been elected fraudulently."

Astourian claims that the elections "tarnished Ter-Petrosian's image, but the West did not dwell on the problem" as "a weak president has his uses."