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CE CONGRESS OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL AUTHORITIES URGES ARMENIA'S AUTHORITIES TO INCREASE VOTERS' CONFIDENCE
14:42 ~U 06.05.13
A 12-member delegation of the Council of Europe Congress composed of
representatives from nine European countries, including three members
of the EU Committee of the Regions, has observed the elections for
the Yerevan Council of Elders on May 5, 2013. At a press conference
in Yerevan, the Head of the delegation and Rapporteur, Stewart
Dickson (UK, ILDCG), presented preliminary conclusions following
the observation of this vote by which also the Mayor of Yerevan
was elected.
Congress Rapporteur Dickson stated that, with the exception of
individual incidents in a few polling stations, the elections were
carried out in a calm and orderly manner and the vote was technically
prepared, although the counting process, which at times looked chaotic
and was slow, needs further improvement. He also stressed that the
composition of the Precinct Election Commissions - as stipulated by
the Electoral Code, each party and alliance represented in Parliament
had one representative and there were two representatives of the
Constituency Election Commission - ensured better opportunities for
the contesters to scrutinize each other.
He also mentioned cameras present in each polling station and extensive
filming which created the impressions of overly controlled processes,
and the large number of domestic observers whose NGO or media remained
ambiguous to the members of the Congress delegation.
Already prior to Election Day, the delegation became positively aware
of a higher level of political competition among parties and alliances
but also heard reports by some interlocutors about pressure exerted on
public service employees to vote in a certain way and persuade also
other voters and there was the recurring issue of vote-buying. There
was also a question of those citizens who no longer live in Yerevan
but have stayed on the population register and thus on the voters'
lists. "I think that these problems have to be urgently addressed by
the Armenian authorities - local issues should be decided by citizens
actually residing in a certain community and an election climate
without intimidations or cash incentives is key for the confidence
of the voters," underlined Dickson.
He invited the authorities to seize the opportunity of the up-coming
Council of Europe Chairmanship of Armenia to improve voters' confidence
in electoral process. "The Council of Europe Venice Commission said
that the new Electoral Code of Armenia has the potential to ensure the
conduct of democratic elections but legislation alone cannot ensure
this. It is the exercise of political will buy all the stakeholders -
and I mean government opposition - which makes the difference. There
was to be fair play without intimidations and other infringements prior
to Election Day and there have to be complaint and appeal procedures
for an effective remedy in which citizens can have confidence. Only
such an environment can ensure genuinely domestic elections and thus
improve the confidence of voters in electoral processes. I am confident
that Armenia's Chairmanship will bring a move forward in this respect,"
Dickson concluded.
Armenian News - Tert.am
14:42 ~U 06.05.13
A 12-member delegation of the Council of Europe Congress composed of
representatives from nine European countries, including three members
of the EU Committee of the Regions, has observed the elections for
the Yerevan Council of Elders on May 5, 2013. At a press conference
in Yerevan, the Head of the delegation and Rapporteur, Stewart
Dickson (UK, ILDCG), presented preliminary conclusions following
the observation of this vote by which also the Mayor of Yerevan
was elected.
Congress Rapporteur Dickson stated that, with the exception of
individual incidents in a few polling stations, the elections were
carried out in a calm and orderly manner and the vote was technically
prepared, although the counting process, which at times looked chaotic
and was slow, needs further improvement. He also stressed that the
composition of the Precinct Election Commissions - as stipulated by
the Electoral Code, each party and alliance represented in Parliament
had one representative and there were two representatives of the
Constituency Election Commission - ensured better opportunities for
the contesters to scrutinize each other.
He also mentioned cameras present in each polling station and extensive
filming which created the impressions of overly controlled processes,
and the large number of domestic observers whose NGO or media remained
ambiguous to the members of the Congress delegation.
Already prior to Election Day, the delegation became positively aware
of a higher level of political competition among parties and alliances
but also heard reports by some interlocutors about pressure exerted on
public service employees to vote in a certain way and persuade also
other voters and there was the recurring issue of vote-buying. There
was also a question of those citizens who no longer live in Yerevan
but have stayed on the population register and thus on the voters'
lists. "I think that these problems have to be urgently addressed by
the Armenian authorities - local issues should be decided by citizens
actually residing in a certain community and an election climate
without intimidations or cash incentives is key for the confidence
of the voters," underlined Dickson.
He invited the authorities to seize the opportunity of the up-coming
Council of Europe Chairmanship of Armenia to improve voters' confidence
in electoral process. "The Council of Europe Venice Commission said
that the new Electoral Code of Armenia has the potential to ensure the
conduct of democratic elections but legislation alone cannot ensure
this. It is the exercise of political will buy all the stakeholders -
and I mean government opposition - which makes the difference. There
was to be fair play without intimidations and other infringements prior
to Election Day and there have to be complaint and appeal procedures
for an effective remedy in which citizens can have confidence. Only
such an environment can ensure genuinely domestic elections and thus
improve the confidence of voters in electoral processes. I am confident
that Armenia's Chairmanship will bring a move forward in this respect,"
Dickson concluded.
Armenian News - Tert.am