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Decision 2013: Observer reports mass ballot-stuffing, attempt at repeated vote
VOTE 2013 | 18.02.13 | 17:17
NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow
By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
A local observer at Armenia's current presidential election has
reported a case of mass ballot stuffing at a polling station in the
Ararat region that followed a foiled attempt at repeated ballot by a
group of people.
Narine Esmayel alerted the Media Center about her observations at
polling station 17/5 in the central Armenian province where, she said,
first people tried to vote repeatedly with one and the same passport
before resorting to other means of rigging the vote.
Talking to ArmeniaNow, Esmayel said: `We managed to prevent repeated
voting from happening, but in this case the commission head and
secretary took another step. At 2:30 pm a group of 30 men entered the
polling station, encircled the ballot box, the secretary opened the
box very quietly and they stuffed it with some 500 ballots. In the
meantime the observers were pushed to the wall and they were prevented
from video recording. The ballot box got filled by half,' Esmayel told
ArmeniaNow by telephone.
According to her, this violation was not registered by members of the
commission at the mentioned precinct and when she demanded that it be
put in the records, the commissioners refused to do so, saying that
they did not notice anything, while the commission head was outside
the station at that time.
Blogger Izabella Abgaryan, meanwhile, writes on her Facebook account
that at polling station 11/115 she saw people approaching a car with
the license plate of 10 oo 744, talking about something and then
returning after the vote for cash (10,000 drams, about $25).
`I personally witnessed it. I am ready to give testimony about it in
court,' writes the blogger.
VOTE 2013 | 18.02.13 | 17:17
NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow
By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
A local observer at Armenia's current presidential election has
reported a case of mass ballot stuffing at a polling station in the
Ararat region that followed a foiled attempt at repeated ballot by a
group of people.
Narine Esmayel alerted the Media Center about her observations at
polling station 17/5 in the central Armenian province where, she said,
first people tried to vote repeatedly with one and the same passport
before resorting to other means of rigging the vote.
Talking to ArmeniaNow, Esmayel said: `We managed to prevent repeated
voting from happening, but in this case the commission head and
secretary took another step. At 2:30 pm a group of 30 men entered the
polling station, encircled the ballot box, the secretary opened the
box very quietly and they stuffed it with some 500 ballots. In the
meantime the observers were pushed to the wall and they were prevented
from video recording. The ballot box got filled by half,' Esmayel told
ArmeniaNow by telephone.
According to her, this violation was not registered by members of the
commission at the mentioned precinct and when she demanded that it be
put in the records, the commissioners refused to do so, saying that
they did not notice anything, while the commission head was outside
the station at that time.
Blogger Izabella Abgaryan, meanwhile, writes on her Facebook account
that at polling station 11/115 she saw people approaching a car with
the license plate of 10 oo 744, talking about something and then
returning after the vote for cash (10,000 drams, about $25).
`I personally witnessed it. I am ready to give testimony about it in
court,' writes the blogger.