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VOTE 2013: PRESIDENTIAL WANNABES DECRY ELECTORAL DEPOSIT REQUIREMENT
http://armenianow.com/vote_2013/42370/armenia_presidential_election2013_electoral_pledge
09.01.13 | 13:13
By Gohar Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
The requirement of an electoral deposit to stand for president in
next month's election in Armenia has become a real problem for some
of the hopefuls, who consider the norm unconstitutional.
Enlarge Photo Robert Simonyan, Pavlik Sargsyan
As many as seven out of 15 candidates who have submitted documents
to the Central Election Commission (CEC) by January 4 have failed
to enclose a receipt confirming their payment of 8 million drams
(about $20,000) as an electoral deposit, which is a requirement of
the current Election Code.
So far, only eight candidates have complied with the norm. They are:
leader of the Republican Party of Armenia, incumbent President Serzh
Sargsyan, leader of the opposition Heritage Party Raffi Hovannisian,
head of the Liberty Party, member of the Armenian National Congress's
parliamentary faction Hrant Bagratyan, former Karabakh Foreign
Minister Arman Melikyan, Radio Hay director Andrias Ghukasyan,
National Self-Determination Union chairman Paruyr Hayrikyan and
specialist in epic studies Vardan Sedrakyan. (Aram Harutyunyan, of
the National Accord Party, paid his deposit only on Tuesday after
the CEC provided an additional 48 hours for it).
On Tuesday, the CEC held a special meeting inviting the potential
candidates, who haven't paid the deposit, including head of the
Armenian National Federation of Combat Karate Taron Abrahamyan,
unemployed citizen Robert Aharonyan, European Court of Human Rights
lawyer, Prosperous Armenia Party member Ruben Ayvazyan, physicist
Mher Hayrapetyan, National Press Club Chairwoman Narine Lazarian,
pensioner Pavlik Sargsyan and Kashatagh NGO President Robert Simonyan.
(Ayvazyan later announced his withdrawal from the race).
Pensioner Pavlik Sargsyan (no relation to incumbent President Serzh
Sargsyan) and unemployed citizen Robert Simonyan told the election
body that they were not going to pay the deposit, but insisted
that they should be allowed to participate in the presidential
election as candidates. They called the provision of the election
law unconstitutional.
Both Sargsyan and Simonyan said they could not afford to pay the
money due to their social status. According to both of them, the
requirement to pay an electoral deposit limits the rights of citizens
to be elected and does not correspond to the Constitution, which does
not make any reference to an electoral deposit.
However, CEC Chairman Tigran Mukuchyan explained that such a
requirement is present in the Election Code and shall be applicable
in relation to all candidates.
Under the law, candidates shall receive their deposits back if they
manage to clear a five-percent threshold at elections. It is supposed
to prevent the nominations of people who do not enjoy a fair amount
of recognition or support among the public at large. In the past,
the collection of signatures in support of nominations was used as
such a barrier.
It was not immediately clear whether the two candidates protesting
the provision of the law as unconstitutional were going to take the
matter to the Constitutional Court.
The CEC again decided to give the candidates another 48 hours to
comply with the requirement. The process of official registration of
candidates is due to be completed in Armenia on January 14.
National Press Club Chairwoman Narine Lazarian, the only woman to
potentially participate in the race, told ArmeniaNow, meanwhile,
that she was trying to find the necessary amount of money for her
electoral deposit. She said, however, that she considered it wrong
to demand such a deposit.
"The mechanism of electoral deposits is gradually being abolished
elsewhere in the world, but in a poor country like Armenia it is
still being applied. This is an instance of discrimination, this
requirement of proof of solvency is meaningless," said Lazarian.
Specialist in epic studies Vardan Sedrakyan, despite having paid the
electoral deposit, believes that it is an artificial barrier that
does not promote democracy in the country.
"Not only this electoral deposit, but also prices for political
advertisements are planned artificially so as to ensure that only
representatives of the elites are able to participate in the elections,
that is state officials or businessmen who are immediately linked to
the authorities," Sedrakyan told ArmeniaNow.
Political analyst Levon Shirinyan also thinks that the availability
of an electoral deposit does not ensure equal rights to all citizens
in Armenia where social polarization is still very strong.
"An ordinary citizen cannot get to the elite controlling Armenia. This
electoral deposit should rather be a symbolic sum of money, otherwise
it becomes a tool that ensures the reproduction of the elites,"
said the analyst.
CEC Chairman Mukuchyan, however, considers the payment of electoral
deposits a normal electoral practice and thinks that the size of
the electoral deposit is acceptable for a country like Armenia. The
presence of such a deposit is believed to be a huge deterrent to all
sorts of phony candidates whose presence in the race could turn the
electoral process into a travesty.
From: Baghdasarian
http://armenianow.com/vote_2013/42370/armenia_presidential_election2013_electoral_pledge
09.01.13 | 13:13
By Gohar Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
The requirement of an electoral deposit to stand for president in
next month's election in Armenia has become a real problem for some
of the hopefuls, who consider the norm unconstitutional.
Enlarge Photo Robert Simonyan, Pavlik Sargsyan
As many as seven out of 15 candidates who have submitted documents
to the Central Election Commission (CEC) by January 4 have failed
to enclose a receipt confirming their payment of 8 million drams
(about $20,000) as an electoral deposit, which is a requirement of
the current Election Code.
So far, only eight candidates have complied with the norm. They are:
leader of the Republican Party of Armenia, incumbent President Serzh
Sargsyan, leader of the opposition Heritage Party Raffi Hovannisian,
head of the Liberty Party, member of the Armenian National Congress's
parliamentary faction Hrant Bagratyan, former Karabakh Foreign
Minister Arman Melikyan, Radio Hay director Andrias Ghukasyan,
National Self-Determination Union chairman Paruyr Hayrikyan and
specialist in epic studies Vardan Sedrakyan. (Aram Harutyunyan, of
the National Accord Party, paid his deposit only on Tuesday after
the CEC provided an additional 48 hours for it).
On Tuesday, the CEC held a special meeting inviting the potential
candidates, who haven't paid the deposit, including head of the
Armenian National Federation of Combat Karate Taron Abrahamyan,
unemployed citizen Robert Aharonyan, European Court of Human Rights
lawyer, Prosperous Armenia Party member Ruben Ayvazyan, physicist
Mher Hayrapetyan, National Press Club Chairwoman Narine Lazarian,
pensioner Pavlik Sargsyan and Kashatagh NGO President Robert Simonyan.
(Ayvazyan later announced his withdrawal from the race).
Pensioner Pavlik Sargsyan (no relation to incumbent President Serzh
Sargsyan) and unemployed citizen Robert Simonyan told the election
body that they were not going to pay the deposit, but insisted
that they should be allowed to participate in the presidential
election as candidates. They called the provision of the election
law unconstitutional.
Both Sargsyan and Simonyan said they could not afford to pay the
money due to their social status. According to both of them, the
requirement to pay an electoral deposit limits the rights of citizens
to be elected and does not correspond to the Constitution, which does
not make any reference to an electoral deposit.
However, CEC Chairman Tigran Mukuchyan explained that such a
requirement is present in the Election Code and shall be applicable
in relation to all candidates.
Under the law, candidates shall receive their deposits back if they
manage to clear a five-percent threshold at elections. It is supposed
to prevent the nominations of people who do not enjoy a fair amount
of recognition or support among the public at large. In the past,
the collection of signatures in support of nominations was used as
such a barrier.
It was not immediately clear whether the two candidates protesting
the provision of the law as unconstitutional were going to take the
matter to the Constitutional Court.
The CEC again decided to give the candidates another 48 hours to
comply with the requirement. The process of official registration of
candidates is due to be completed in Armenia on January 14.
National Press Club Chairwoman Narine Lazarian, the only woman to
potentially participate in the race, told ArmeniaNow, meanwhile,
that she was trying to find the necessary amount of money for her
electoral deposit. She said, however, that she considered it wrong
to demand such a deposit.
"The mechanism of electoral deposits is gradually being abolished
elsewhere in the world, but in a poor country like Armenia it is
still being applied. This is an instance of discrimination, this
requirement of proof of solvency is meaningless," said Lazarian.
Specialist in epic studies Vardan Sedrakyan, despite having paid the
electoral deposit, believes that it is an artificial barrier that
does not promote democracy in the country.
"Not only this electoral deposit, but also prices for political
advertisements are planned artificially so as to ensure that only
representatives of the elites are able to participate in the elections,
that is state officials or businessmen who are immediately linked to
the authorities," Sedrakyan told ArmeniaNow.
Political analyst Levon Shirinyan also thinks that the availability
of an electoral deposit does not ensure equal rights to all citizens
in Armenia where social polarization is still very strong.
"An ordinary citizen cannot get to the elite controlling Armenia. This
electoral deposit should rather be a symbolic sum of money, otherwise
it becomes a tool that ensures the reproduction of the elites,"
said the analyst.
CEC Chairman Mukuchyan, however, considers the payment of electoral
deposits a normal electoral practice and thinks that the size of
the electoral deposit is acceptable for a country like Armenia. The
presence of such a deposit is believed to be a huge deterrent to all
sorts of phony candidates whose presence in the race could turn the
electoral process into a travesty.
From: Baghdasarian