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Global Insight
March 15, 2013
Armenia's opposition exhausts legal avenues to overturn presidential
election results
by Lilit Gevorgyan
Armenia's Constitutional Court yesterday (14 March) ruled against an
appeal lodged by two opposition presidential candidates, Raffi
Hovhanessian and Andreas Ghukasyan, disputing the results of the 18
February presidential vote. Hovhanessian came in second place with
36.7% of the total vote behind the incumbent Serzh Sargsyan, who was
re-elected with 58.6% for his second term. Ghukasyan, a professional
journalist and a newcomer in the political scene, gained only 0.57% of
votes. Both candidates argued that president Sargsyan had used his
administrative resources to secure his re-election. They also brought
evidence suggesting that, especially in rural areas, there has been
widespread ballot-box stuffing and some opposition election observers
reported that they and their families were intimidated by
pro-president local officials preventing them from lodging any
complaints about vote rigging with the Central Election Commission.
The highest judicial body in Armenia, the Constitutional Court,
however, has decided that the evidence of voting procedure violations
was not enough to have a significant impact on the final outcome.
Sargsyan is due to be sworn in on 9 April.
Significance:The opposition and its supporters expected yesterday's
outcome from the Constitution Court as they argue that the country's
judiciary is highly politically dependent. Hovhanessian, who has been
leading a peaceful anti-government movement since the elections,
stated prior to appealing to the court that it was a procedural
necessity to seek all available peaceful avenues in an effort to
induce a fresh election. Despite a strong showing at opposition
protests, the government has so far refused to consider any of
Hovhanessian's proposals, including calling early parliamentary
elections and changing the constitution to transit from a presidential
to a parliamentary democracy. They argue that the elections were free
and despite some violations, also noted by Western election monitors,
the electorate gave its overall support to the incumbent. As an
extreme measure of protest, Hovhanessian has declared a hunger strike
since 10 March, although this is unlikely to force the government to
review its inflexible position. Hovhanessian's Ghandi-style peaceful
and tolerant calls for change are a novelty for Armenia's or indeed
for the former Soviet republics' political culture. However, this
tactic is deemed as a sign of weakness by the current Armenian
government, which is keen to continue its course despite growing
social discontent in the country. Although the government may brush
aside the protests, especially being in full control of administrative
resources, however, this attitude will widen the gap socially and cast
further doubt on the legitimacy of Sargsyan's presidency.
March 15, 2013
Armenia's opposition exhausts legal avenues to overturn presidential
election results
by Lilit Gevorgyan
Armenia's Constitutional Court yesterday (14 March) ruled against an
appeal lodged by two opposition presidential candidates, Raffi
Hovhanessian and Andreas Ghukasyan, disputing the results of the 18
February presidential vote. Hovhanessian came in second place with
36.7% of the total vote behind the incumbent Serzh Sargsyan, who was
re-elected with 58.6% for his second term. Ghukasyan, a professional
journalist and a newcomer in the political scene, gained only 0.57% of
votes. Both candidates argued that president Sargsyan had used his
administrative resources to secure his re-election. They also brought
evidence suggesting that, especially in rural areas, there has been
widespread ballot-box stuffing and some opposition election observers
reported that they and their families were intimidated by
pro-president local officials preventing them from lodging any
complaints about vote rigging with the Central Election Commission.
The highest judicial body in Armenia, the Constitutional Court,
however, has decided that the evidence of voting procedure violations
was not enough to have a significant impact on the final outcome.
Sargsyan is due to be sworn in on 9 April.
Significance:The opposition and its supporters expected yesterday's
outcome from the Constitution Court as they argue that the country's
judiciary is highly politically dependent. Hovhanessian, who has been
leading a peaceful anti-government movement since the elections,
stated prior to appealing to the court that it was a procedural
necessity to seek all available peaceful avenues in an effort to
induce a fresh election. Despite a strong showing at opposition
protests, the government has so far refused to consider any of
Hovhanessian's proposals, including calling early parliamentary
elections and changing the constitution to transit from a presidential
to a parliamentary democracy. They argue that the elections were free
and despite some violations, also noted by Western election monitors,
the electorate gave its overall support to the incumbent. As an
extreme measure of protest, Hovhanessian has declared a hunger strike
since 10 March, although this is unlikely to force the government to
review its inflexible position. Hovhanessian's Ghandi-style peaceful
and tolerant calls for change are a novelty for Armenia's or indeed
for the former Soviet republics' political culture. However, this
tactic is deemed as a sign of weakness by the current Armenian
government, which is keen to continue its course despite growing
social discontent in the country. Although the government may brush
aside the protests, especially being in full control of administrative
resources, however, this attitude will widen the gap socially and cast
further doubt on the legitimacy of Sargsyan's presidency.