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ARMENIA REPORTS INCREASED NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS
Anush Martirosian
http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/24530477.html
28.03.2012
The number of eligible voters officially registered in Armenia has
increased by nearly seven percent since the last national election
four years ago, according to the voter lists updated ahead of the
upcoming parliamentary polls.
The voter rolls posted on the official websites of the Armenian Police
and the Central Election Commission show that the number of people in
Armenia allowed to vote in the May 6 elections is just over 2,485,000
- an increase by more than 165,000 voters as compared to the official
figure reported before the 2008 presidential election.
A number of opposition media and analysts have cast doubts over the
possibility of such an appreciable rise, considering the preliminary
data of the October 2011 census that show Armenia's permanent
population dwindling by some 415,000 to around 2,870,000 over the
10-year period. They also challenge the assumption that only less than
400,000 people in the country are actually below Armenia's national
voting age of 18.
Meanwhile, head of the Passport and Visa Department of the Armenian
Police Hovannes Kocharian dismissed the speculation about any kind of
deliberate distortion of the electoral rolls to meet the interests
of the ruling political force or any other groups. He explained
the essential rise in the number of voters by a more meticulous
registration of citizens in Armenia in the past four years.
"A total of 359,614 voters, who weren't on the 2008 lists, have been
added to the register by this year," he said.
The police colonel explained that the rise reflects stricter
registration requirements for people seeking various government
benefits and also applying for receiving a passport.
Acknowledging that inaccuracies were still possible in the lists,
Kocharian ruled out any deliberate action to include dead or
non-existing people in them - a claim that has dogged the Armenian
authorities during virtually all previous national and local elections.
At the same time, the official also excluded that a large number of
people could possess two or more valid passports to be able to vote
several times in the upcoming elections. Any police official caught
committing such fraud will be severely punished, he emphasized.
Addressing a group of senior police officers last week, Chief of the
Armenian Police Vladimir Gasparian warned his subordinates to stick
to political neutrality during the entire course of the electoral
process in Armenia. He, in particular, stressed the importance of
ensuring the accuracy of voter registers, calling on police officials
to take it as a matter of their "personal responsibility".
Still, different opposition groups, including the Armenian National
Congress, have cast doubts over the veracity of the electoral rolls
presented by the authorities. They again accuse the government of
trying to rig the vote by inflating the official number of registered
voters.
From: Baghdasarian
Anush Martirosian
http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/24530477.html
28.03.2012
The number of eligible voters officially registered in Armenia has
increased by nearly seven percent since the last national election
four years ago, according to the voter lists updated ahead of the
upcoming parliamentary polls.
The voter rolls posted on the official websites of the Armenian Police
and the Central Election Commission show that the number of people in
Armenia allowed to vote in the May 6 elections is just over 2,485,000
- an increase by more than 165,000 voters as compared to the official
figure reported before the 2008 presidential election.
A number of opposition media and analysts have cast doubts over the
possibility of such an appreciable rise, considering the preliminary
data of the October 2011 census that show Armenia's permanent
population dwindling by some 415,000 to around 2,870,000 over the
10-year period. They also challenge the assumption that only less than
400,000 people in the country are actually below Armenia's national
voting age of 18.
Meanwhile, head of the Passport and Visa Department of the Armenian
Police Hovannes Kocharian dismissed the speculation about any kind of
deliberate distortion of the electoral rolls to meet the interests
of the ruling political force or any other groups. He explained
the essential rise in the number of voters by a more meticulous
registration of citizens in Armenia in the past four years.
"A total of 359,614 voters, who weren't on the 2008 lists, have been
added to the register by this year," he said.
The police colonel explained that the rise reflects stricter
registration requirements for people seeking various government
benefits and also applying for receiving a passport.
Acknowledging that inaccuracies were still possible in the lists,
Kocharian ruled out any deliberate action to include dead or
non-existing people in them - a claim that has dogged the Armenian
authorities during virtually all previous national and local elections.
At the same time, the official also excluded that a large number of
people could possess two or more valid passports to be able to vote
several times in the upcoming elections. Any police official caught
committing such fraud will be severely punished, he emphasized.
Addressing a group of senior police officers last week, Chief of the
Armenian Police Vladimir Gasparian warned his subordinates to stick
to political neutrality during the entire course of the electoral
process in Armenia. He, in particular, stressed the importance of
ensuring the accuracy of voter registers, calling on police officials
to take it as a matter of their "personal responsibility".
Still, different opposition groups, including the Armenian National
Congress, have cast doubts over the veracity of the electoral rolls
presented by the authorities. They again accuse the government of
trying to rig the vote by inflating the official number of registered
voters.
From: Baghdasarian