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ARMENIA'S ELECTION: SARGSYAN SEES
The Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2012/05/armenias-election
May 7 2012
YESTERDAY'S parliamentary election in Armenia yielded few surprises.
President Serzh Sargsyan's Republican Party won, with 44% of the
vote, amid charges of fraud and vote-rigging that will be familiar
to Armenia-watchers.
Yet, unlike the presidential election in February 2008, after
which eight demonstrators were killed in clashes with security
forces, there was little violence yesterday. This is a measure of
progress in the poor and landlocked former Soviet republic. "Armenia
deserves recognition for its electoral reforms and its open and
peaceful campaign" said observers from the OSCE. But, they added,
"stakeholders" had too often failed to comply with electoral law,
and the election commission had "too often failed to enforce it."
Most western observers agreed that ballot-stuffing and coercion was
scarce, compared to previous elections. And in a further sign of
progress, Armenia's quarrelsome civil-society movement mobilised to
keep the elections clean. Their efforts paid off when local election
observers uncovered what has been dubbed the case of the disappearing
stamps. This emerged when hundreds of voters, including Vartan
Oskanian, a former foreign minister, complained that ink markings on
their passports designed to prevent multiple voting had disappeared
within minutes of being stamped. The story spread quickly online,
forcing the election commission to put out a statement.
Still, such apparent improvements must be set again opposition charges
that thousands of votes were bought. Incriminating footage was posted
on YouTube. "Bribery was much more prevalent than before," a Western
diplomat confirmed.
The Prosperous Armenia party came second in the election, winning 30%
of the vote. Led by Gagik Tsarukyan, a controversial millionaire and
former arm-wrestling champion with a penchant for white suits and
pet lions, the party has supported the Republicans in an informal
coalition. But that help has come at the expense of the kinds of
reform that would trim the powers of Armenia's oligarchs.
Poverty, unemployment, corruption and emigration continue to plague
Armenia, a small but fiercely proud nation of 3m people that has been
wracked by conflict with neighbouring Azerbaijan. Yet after his party's
success yesterday, most observers say that unless the opposition can
agree on a candidate Mr Sargsyan is likely to be re-elected to a third
presidential term. His predecessor, the thuggish Robert Kocharian,
is likely to continue to wield influence via Prosperous Armenia from
behind the scenes.
Mr Sargsyan, a former defence minister who oversaw the war successfully
prosecuted by Armenia against Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, has
stirred his own share of controversy. In late 2010 a Wikileaks cable
dating from 2008 appeared to suggest that he had authorised the sale
of weapons to Iran that were used against American soldiers in Iraq.
The revelation of this scandal made surprisingly few waves. And
Mr Sargsyan continues deftly to steer the middle ground between
strategic ties with Armenia's chief mentor, Russia, and closer
partnership with the European Union and America. In 2008 Mr Sargsyan
took a big risk when he signed a set of protocols with Turkey, an
ancient foe, that foresaw the establishment of diplomatic ties and
the re-opening of the Turkish-Armenian border. In the event Turkey
shelved the agreement following a barrage of threats from its ally
Azerbaijan. Turkey maintains that its alliance with the Azeris is
rooted in common faith and culture; Azerbaijan's vast energy wealth
may also have had something to do with it.
From: Baghdasarian
The Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2012/05/armenias-election
May 7 2012
YESTERDAY'S parliamentary election in Armenia yielded few surprises.
President Serzh Sargsyan's Republican Party won, with 44% of the
vote, amid charges of fraud and vote-rigging that will be familiar
to Armenia-watchers.
Yet, unlike the presidential election in February 2008, after
which eight demonstrators were killed in clashes with security
forces, there was little violence yesterday. This is a measure of
progress in the poor and landlocked former Soviet republic. "Armenia
deserves recognition for its electoral reforms and its open and
peaceful campaign" said observers from the OSCE. But, they added,
"stakeholders" had too often failed to comply with electoral law,
and the election commission had "too often failed to enforce it."
Most western observers agreed that ballot-stuffing and coercion was
scarce, compared to previous elections. And in a further sign of
progress, Armenia's quarrelsome civil-society movement mobilised to
keep the elections clean. Their efforts paid off when local election
observers uncovered what has been dubbed the case of the disappearing
stamps. This emerged when hundreds of voters, including Vartan
Oskanian, a former foreign minister, complained that ink markings on
their passports designed to prevent multiple voting had disappeared
within minutes of being stamped. The story spread quickly online,
forcing the election commission to put out a statement.
Still, such apparent improvements must be set again opposition charges
that thousands of votes were bought. Incriminating footage was posted
on YouTube. "Bribery was much more prevalent than before," a Western
diplomat confirmed.
The Prosperous Armenia party came second in the election, winning 30%
of the vote. Led by Gagik Tsarukyan, a controversial millionaire and
former arm-wrestling champion with a penchant for white suits and
pet lions, the party has supported the Republicans in an informal
coalition. But that help has come at the expense of the kinds of
reform that would trim the powers of Armenia's oligarchs.
Poverty, unemployment, corruption and emigration continue to plague
Armenia, a small but fiercely proud nation of 3m people that has been
wracked by conflict with neighbouring Azerbaijan. Yet after his party's
success yesterday, most observers say that unless the opposition can
agree on a candidate Mr Sargsyan is likely to be re-elected to a third
presidential term. His predecessor, the thuggish Robert Kocharian,
is likely to continue to wield influence via Prosperous Armenia from
behind the scenes.
Mr Sargsyan, a former defence minister who oversaw the war successfully
prosecuted by Armenia against Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, has
stirred his own share of controversy. In late 2010 a Wikileaks cable
dating from 2008 appeared to suggest that he had authorised the sale
of weapons to Iran that were used against American soldiers in Iraq.
The revelation of this scandal made surprisingly few waves. And
Mr Sargsyan continues deftly to steer the middle ground between
strategic ties with Armenia's chief mentor, Russia, and closer
partnership with the European Union and America. In 2008 Mr Sargsyan
took a big risk when he signed a set of protocols with Turkey, an
ancient foe, that foresaw the establishment of diplomatic ties and
the re-opening of the Turkish-Armenian border. In the event Turkey
shelved the agreement following a barrage of threats from its ally
Azerbaijan. Turkey maintains that its alliance with the Azeris is
rooted in common faith and culture; Azerbaijan's vast energy wealth
may also have had something to do with it.
From: Baghdasarian