Tweet
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
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