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CONSTITUTIONAL COURT JUDGE CONCERNED ABOUT ELECTION FRAUD
http://asbarez.com/108761/constitutional-court-judge-concerned-about-election-fraud/
Wednesday, March 13th, 2013
Constitutional Court Judge Kim Balayan
YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)-A member of Armenia's Constitutional Court on
Wednesday expressed concern over irregularities reported during last
month's presidential election, saying that they have fuelled public
distrust in its official results.
Kim Balayan spoke of many Armenians' "dissatisfaction" with the
official vote results as he questioned a police representative during
a court hearing on opposition appeals to annul the February 18 vote.
He said he wants to have a "clear conscience" when deciding whether
to back the appeals lodged by Raffi Hovannisian, the main opposition
candidate, and Andreas Ghukasian, an election outsider.
The nine-member court is due to hand down its verdict on Thursday. Few
expect it to invalidate President Serzh Sarkisian's disputed victory.
The Armenian authorities insist that there were only minor violations
that could not have affected the election outcome.
"Whether or not those violations affected the overall [election result]
is a separate matter," said Balayan. "But it's obvious that there
were violations." He wondered if law-enforcement authorities need
"additional levers" to detect fraud.
Representatives of the police and prosecutors testifying at the
hearing said the police investigated more than 250 reports of fraud
but in the vast majority of those cases presumed eyewitnesses were
unwilling to come forward when contacted by law-enforcement officers.
Zaruhi Postanjian, a representative of Hovannisian, attributed this
to an "atmosphere of fear."
http://asbarez.com/108761/constitutional-court-judge-concerned-about-election-fraud/
Wednesday, March 13th, 2013
Constitutional Court Judge Kim Balayan
YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)-A member of Armenia's Constitutional Court on
Wednesday expressed concern over irregularities reported during last
month's presidential election, saying that they have fuelled public
distrust in its official results.
Kim Balayan spoke of many Armenians' "dissatisfaction" with the
official vote results as he questioned a police representative during
a court hearing on opposition appeals to annul the February 18 vote.
He said he wants to have a "clear conscience" when deciding whether
to back the appeals lodged by Raffi Hovannisian, the main opposition
candidate, and Andreas Ghukasian, an election outsider.
The nine-member court is due to hand down its verdict on Thursday. Few
expect it to invalidate President Serzh Sarkisian's disputed victory.
The Armenian authorities insist that there were only minor violations
that could not have affected the election outcome.
"Whether or not those violations affected the overall [election result]
is a separate matter," said Balayan. "But it's obvious that there
were violations." He wondered if law-enforcement authorities need
"additional levers" to detect fraud.
Representatives of the police and prosecutors testifying at the
hearing said the police investigated more than 250 reports of fraud
but in the vast majority of those cases presumed eyewitnesses were
unwilling to come forward when contacted by law-enforcement officers.
Zaruhi Postanjian, a representative of Hovannisian, attributed this
to an "atmosphere of fear."