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EU Welcomes Progress In Armenian Parliamentary Election Disputed By

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  • EU Welcomes Progress In Armenian Parliamentary Election Disputed By

    EU WELCOMES PROGRESS IN ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION DISPUTED BY OPPOSITION
    Lilit Gevorgyan

    Global Insight
    May 10, 2012

    The EU's chief diplomat Catherine Ashton and Enlargement Commissioner
    Stefan Fuele have issued a joint statement following the Armenian
    parliamentary elections on 6 May. They welcomed "the efforts by
    the Armenian authorities to hold these parliamentary elections in
    a way which represents progress towards more transparent and more
    competitive elections." The top EU officials also highlighted that
    in a positive development six political parties will be present in
    the National Assembly which is hoped to serve as a "positive step
    towards the development of a pluralistic and democratic political
    culture in Armenia."

    But the statement also drew the Armenian authorities' attention to
    the shortcomings that have already been summarised in the report by
    observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe
    (OSCE). The statement also called for a constructive dialogue between
    the opposition and the authorities and urged to "refrain from unlawful
    acts". This is a qualifying and veiled description of the events
    that followed February 2008's presidential election. The opposition
    resorted to street protests disputing the election of President Serzh
    Sargsyan, and the ensuing clashes with the riot police and army units
    ended with tragedy as 10 people were killed. According to RFE/RL in
    Brussels, Ashton's spokesperson Maja Kocijancic confirmed that the
    recent vote marked progress towards more transparent elections. She
    also added that the shortcomings will have no negative impact on the
    ongoing talks on a free-trade agreement (FTA) and simplification of
    EU visa terms for Armenian citizens.

    Significance:The EU appraisal is certainly welcome news for the
    Armenian authorities, but it comes at a time when nearly all opposition
    party have slammed the vote as rigged. The Armenian National Congress
    (ANC), an umbrella organisation uniting 18 opposition groups and
    parties, has stated that they will dispute the Republican Party's
    victory in the Constitutional Court. One of the oldest Armenian
    parties, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Dashnaktsutyun
    has also come out with strong criticism. The mixed results indicated
    that there has indeed been progress, especially in term of freedom
    of campaigning. The Armenian media channels, both state and privately
    owned, rose to the occasion with a full coverage of the elections and
    extending platform for all candidates to express their views. But the
    key issue is that voter intimidation and vote-rigging on the day of
    election had undermined these achievements.

    Independent candidates in particular were most vulnerable and there
    are reports of voters intimidation during the election campaign of
    independent candidates. There was a hope among the opposition that
    the ruling party will be forced to form a coalition government,
    at least the independent opinion polls suggested so. Nonetheless,
    the increased activism and present of opposition parties in the
    parliament is welcome news for the nascent Armenian democracy.


    From: Baghdasarian
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