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Vote 2012: Polls open in Armenian parliamentary elections
Vote 2012 | 06.05.12 | 08:01
http://armenianow.com/vote_2012/37830/armenia_vote_2012_parliamentary_elections_may_6
Voters in Armenia have begun casting ballots in parliamentary
elections seen as a crucial test of the nation's stated commitment to
democracy.
Ninety seats in the 131-member National Assembly are being contested
in a proportional vote by nine political forces, including eight
parties and one bloc. In no particular order, these are: the
Republican Party of Armenia, the Prosperous Armenia Party, Orinats
Yerkir, Dashnaktsutyun, Heritage, the Armenian National Congress bloc,
the Democratic Party of Armenia, the Communist Party of Armenia and
the United Armenians Party. (By law, to enter the National Assembly
political parties need to clear a five-percent threshold, while
election blocs must poll at least seven percent of the vote to do
that).
Another 41 parliament seats are up for grabs in single-mandate
elections in as many constituencies contested by a total of 139
candidates on the first-past-the-post basis. (Races in 39 electoral
districts are more or less competitive, with many featuring several
pro-government and opposition candidates; there are two
constituencies, however, where there is only one candidate).
As has repeatedly been stated by Armenia's international partners,
including the European Union and the United States, and has been
acknowledged by the Armenian leadership, the May 6 polls put on the
line not only the direction lawmaking in the country will go for the
next five years, but also the nation's broader democratic credentials.
Virtually all general elections held in Armenia during its two decades
of independence have been flawed and fallen short of international
democratic standards.
The Sunday vote follows four weeks of strenuous political campaigning
that included occasional altercations and some reported violations. So
far, however, most observers agree that more or less equal
opportunities have been created for the politicians to get their
messages across to potential voters, including through media.
By law, campaigning was not allowed on the eve of the polls to let
voters digest the multitude of pledges they have been hearing from
political parties and their candidates.
About 2,000 polling stations across Armenia will be open for 12 hours
(from 8 am to 8 pm) today for eligible voters (of which officials say
there are 2,484,003 in the country's voter rolls today) to cast their
ballots. A total of 647 international observers representing 11
organizations, including 258 observers from the OSCE/ODIHR, will be
deployed on the ground in Armenia to monitor the course of the vote.
The local observation mission will include 53 organizations, with
about 32,000 observers involved in the monitoring mission - an
unprecedented number for a local deployment.
The general electoral process is executed and overseen by the Central
Election Commission that is expected to start announcing the first
results pertaining to the vote within hours after the polls close. In
the meantime, through its website (www.elections.am) the election body
will update information on the voter turnout at three-hour intervals
during the day (9 am, noon, 3 pm, 6 pm and 9 pm). The official
preliminary results of the elections are due to be published within 24
hours after the closure of polling stations (8 pm, May 7).
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Vote 2012 | 06.05.12 | 08:01
http://armenianow.com/vote_2012/37830/armenia_vote_2012_parliamentary_elections_may_6
Voters in Armenia have begun casting ballots in parliamentary
elections seen as a crucial test of the nation's stated commitment to
democracy.
Ninety seats in the 131-member National Assembly are being contested
in a proportional vote by nine political forces, including eight
parties and one bloc. In no particular order, these are: the
Republican Party of Armenia, the Prosperous Armenia Party, Orinats
Yerkir, Dashnaktsutyun, Heritage, the Armenian National Congress bloc,
the Democratic Party of Armenia, the Communist Party of Armenia and
the United Armenians Party. (By law, to enter the National Assembly
political parties need to clear a five-percent threshold, while
election blocs must poll at least seven percent of the vote to do
that).
Another 41 parliament seats are up for grabs in single-mandate
elections in as many constituencies contested by a total of 139
candidates on the first-past-the-post basis. (Races in 39 electoral
districts are more or less competitive, with many featuring several
pro-government and opposition candidates; there are two
constituencies, however, where there is only one candidate).
As has repeatedly been stated by Armenia's international partners,
including the European Union and the United States, and has been
acknowledged by the Armenian leadership, the May 6 polls put on the
line not only the direction lawmaking in the country will go for the
next five years, but also the nation's broader democratic credentials.
Virtually all general elections held in Armenia during its two decades
of independence have been flawed and fallen short of international
democratic standards.
The Sunday vote follows four weeks of strenuous political campaigning
that included occasional altercations and some reported violations. So
far, however, most observers agree that more or less equal
opportunities have been created for the politicians to get their
messages across to potential voters, including through media.
By law, campaigning was not allowed on the eve of the polls to let
voters digest the multitude of pledges they have been hearing from
political parties and their candidates.
About 2,000 polling stations across Armenia will be open for 12 hours
(from 8 am to 8 pm) today for eligible voters (of which officials say
there are 2,484,003 in the country's voter rolls today) to cast their
ballots. A total of 647 international observers representing 11
organizations, including 258 observers from the OSCE/ODIHR, will be
deployed on the ground in Armenia to monitor the course of the vote.
The local observation mission will include 53 organizations, with
about 32,000 observers involved in the monitoring mission - an
unprecedented number for a local deployment.
The general electoral process is executed and overseen by the Central
Election Commission that is expected to start announcing the first
results pertaining to the vote within hours after the polls close. In
the meantime, through its website (www.elections.am) the election body
will update information on the voter turnout at three-hour intervals
during the day (9 am, noon, 3 pm, 6 pm and 9 pm). The official
preliminary results of the elections are due to be published within 24
hours after the closure of polling stations (8 pm, May 7).
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress