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ASSESSING VOTE 2012 ASSESSMENT: INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS' REPORT ON ARMENIA ELECTIONS SEEN AS VAGUE
By Siranuysh Gevorgyan
ArmeniaNow
Vote 2012 | 08.05.12 | 15:12
Manvel Sargsyan
Director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies
(ACNIS) Manvel Sargsyan describes the report on the May 6 parliamentary
elections released by international observers on Monday as "vague".
"They [the international observation mission heads] said that their
goal was not to give evaluations, but rather to see how elections
have been conducted in Armenia in accordance with the country's
legislation," Sargsyan told ArmeniaNow.
According to the political analyst, it is an important circumstance
that during the presentation of the report one of the observers
compared the May 6 parliamentary elections in Armenia not to the
previous elections, but to the elections that were held in the
Soviet Union. (At a press conference on Monday the observers tried
in every possible way to avoid making comparisons with the previous,
most recent elections. Only Francois-Xavier de Donnea, the head of
the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation, said that the elections
were a big step forward in comparison with the elections taking place
in the Soviet Union).
The joint preliminary report of the international observers contained
a mixed assessment of the elections. On the one hand, they praise the
pre-election campaign, but on the other hand stressed a "significant
number" of irregularities on Election Day proper.
In their preliminary findings the observers noted a "vibrant and
largely peaceful campaign, with overall balanced media coverage." "But
pressure on voters and a deficient complaints process created an
unequal playing field," they added.
President Serzh Sargsyan, whose ruling Republican Party of Armenia
swept the May 6 vote consolidating its grip on power in the country,
had repeatedly pledged a clean vote before and while conducting his
election campaign. In fact, Sargsyan and other senior representatives
of the political leadership in Yerevan had promised to hold the
freest, fairest and most transparent elections in the history of
independent Armenia. The nation's international partners, such as
the European Union, the United States and others, had also stressed
on many occasions the importance of Armenia holding free and fair
elections in terms of its further democratization and integration
within European structures.
To the question as to what significance for the Armenian leadership
the observer mission report has in this contest, given that Sargsyan
is going to seek reelection as president in 2013, ACNIS head Sargsyan
(no relation to the Armenian president) said: "Everything depends on
the [minority] political parties - if they pick their mandates and
enter the parliament, then Serzh Sargsyan will have no problem with
international bodies."
Stepan Safaryan, who appears to have lost his seat in parliament as
an opposition Heritage lawmaker, said he did not think the report
helped Armenia in terms of encouraging further democracy.
According to him, it failed to properly address the concerns about
large-scale vote buying schemes and use of administrative resources
during the elections in Armenia. "I don't know whether it is observers
laughing at us, or we should be laughing at the observers," Safaryan
said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
By Siranuysh Gevorgyan
ArmeniaNow
Vote 2012 | 08.05.12 | 15:12
Manvel Sargsyan
Director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies
(ACNIS) Manvel Sargsyan describes the report on the May 6 parliamentary
elections released by international observers on Monday as "vague".
"They [the international observation mission heads] said that their
goal was not to give evaluations, but rather to see how elections
have been conducted in Armenia in accordance with the country's
legislation," Sargsyan told ArmeniaNow.
According to the political analyst, it is an important circumstance
that during the presentation of the report one of the observers
compared the May 6 parliamentary elections in Armenia not to the
previous elections, but to the elections that were held in the
Soviet Union. (At a press conference on Monday the observers tried
in every possible way to avoid making comparisons with the previous,
most recent elections. Only Francois-Xavier de Donnea, the head of
the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation, said that the elections
were a big step forward in comparison with the elections taking place
in the Soviet Union).
The joint preliminary report of the international observers contained
a mixed assessment of the elections. On the one hand, they praise the
pre-election campaign, but on the other hand stressed a "significant
number" of irregularities on Election Day proper.
In their preliminary findings the observers noted a "vibrant and
largely peaceful campaign, with overall balanced media coverage." "But
pressure on voters and a deficient complaints process created an
unequal playing field," they added.
President Serzh Sargsyan, whose ruling Republican Party of Armenia
swept the May 6 vote consolidating its grip on power in the country,
had repeatedly pledged a clean vote before and while conducting his
election campaign. In fact, Sargsyan and other senior representatives
of the political leadership in Yerevan had promised to hold the
freest, fairest and most transparent elections in the history of
independent Armenia. The nation's international partners, such as
the European Union, the United States and others, had also stressed
on many occasions the importance of Armenia holding free and fair
elections in terms of its further democratization and integration
within European structures.
To the question as to what significance for the Armenian leadership
the observer mission report has in this contest, given that Sargsyan
is going to seek reelection as president in 2013, ACNIS head Sargsyan
(no relation to the Armenian president) said: "Everything depends on
the [minority] political parties - if they pick their mandates and
enter the parliament, then Serzh Sargsyan will have no problem with
international bodies."
Stepan Safaryan, who appears to have lost his seat in parliament as
an opposition Heritage lawmaker, said he did not think the report
helped Armenia in terms of encouraging further democracy.
According to him, it failed to properly address the concerns about
large-scale vote buying schemes and use of administrative resources
during the elections in Armenia. "I don't know whether it is observers
laughing at us, or we should be laughing at the observers," Safaryan
said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress