International community's response to May 12 Elections

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Foreigners Praise Conduct of Armenian Elections

By C. J. CHIVERS



Published: May 14, 2007

MOSCOW, May 13 — Parliamentary elections in Armenia largely complied with international standards, Western election observers said Sunday, in the first positive assessment of an election in the former Soviet republic since it gained independence in 1991.
Skip to next paragraph Justyna Mielnikiewicz for The New York Times
Opposition party supporters protested in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, claiming irregularities in parliamentary elections held on Saturday. The demonstration broke up quickly, with no reports of arrests.

A coalition of pro-government parties took a strong majority in the 131-seat National Assembly, according to preliminary results of Saturday’s election, giving a victory to Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan, who is regarded as the principal contender in the presidential race next year.
Elections in much of the former Soviet Union have routinely been rigged since Communism’s collapse. The results announced Sunday in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, came after intensive diplomatic pressure against Armenia to avoid another flawed election.
The United States had threatened to withhold foreign aid if serious irregularities were repeated, and the European Union had said it would scale back its relations with Armenia.
In signs of an open campaign, opposition parties held public rallies without police harassment and were allowed free air time on public television. “We saw the way in which serious efforts by the authorities to address problems that marred previous elections can result in a healthier election campaign,” said Boris Frlec, the head of the long-term observer mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which sends monitors to elections in the former Soviet republics.
He said the election’s greatest importance would lie in whether it helped to restore the trust of the Armenian public, “which has been seriously undermined by irregularities in previous elections and the impunity of those responsible.”
Mr. Sargsyan hailed the results and the observers’ assessment. “I am happy that the international observers have acknowledged that these were the best elections ever held in Armenia in its 15 years of independence,” he said in an e-mail message.
While the observers commended an improvement from past elections, they noted that problems remained, and that there had been isolated reports of fraud and double-voting. Opposition parties said that many votes had been bought.
The observers also criticized Armenia for denying visas to observers from Turkey, which was responsible for the killings of more than a million Armenians from 1915 through 1918. Relations between the nations remain deeply strained, and Mr. Sargsyan was unapologetic on Sunday about blocking Turkish observers.
“Turkey keeps refusing to have official contacts with Armenia of any sort,” Mr. Sargsyan said. “I think it would be unnatural to receive observing representatives from a country which does not even wish to have a civilized official dialogue.”
A small protest began Sunday in the capital, with opposition parties claiming to have evidence of irregularities. There were no immediate reports of arrests or violence, and the protest quickly broke up in the rain.

Source: The New York Times

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Observers say Armenia election meets international standards


Publishes the same article by the same author with slightly different wording!

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OSCE says Armenia vote was fair

Sun May 13, 2007 4:44PM EDT


By Hasmik Mkrtchyan and Margarita Antidze
YEREVAN (Reuters) - Pro-presidential parties won a large majority in Armenia's parliamentary election, its electoral commission said on Sunday, a poll that monitors said was fair and which confirmed support for the prime minister.
The winner of the election -- viewed as a dress rehearsal for the presidential vote next year -- was Prime Minister Serzh Sarksyan who heads the Republican party, which will control around 40 percent of the 131 seats in parliament.
Sarksyan is a 52-year-old former welder and a trusted lieutenant of Armenia's President Robert Kocharyan.
This was the first election former Soviet Armenia has held that Western observers said was fair and the statement from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe dampened potential street demonstrations.
On Wednesday police had fired tear gas to break up an opposition rally in central Yerevan where demonstrators had protested against what they said would be a rigged election.
The 2003 parliamentary election was described as below democratic standards.
"The Armenian elections were an improvement from previous elections and were largely conducted in accordance with international standards for democratic elections," Tone Tingsgaard, one of the leaders of the 400 OSCE monitors, said.
"Some issues remain and more is needed to consolidate this democracy."
Observers highlighted the close relationship between businesses and politicians as a concern and an inadequate electoral complaints procedure. One of the pro-presidential parties is run by a millionaire businessman.
But the message was enough to dampen support and enthusiasm for a protest against rigged elections when a few thousand people gathered to listen to the fringe opposition leaders.
"There was no election yesterday, there was just a coup d'etat," Nikol Pashinyan, one of the leaders of the Impeachment party, told the crowd. "The organizers of the election should be punished."
But unlike the violent clashes between demonstrators and police on Wednesday the mood in Yerevan on Sunday was calm and quiet, a Reuters correspondent said.
"BEST ELECTION EVER"
And the European Union was quick to endorse the election results which it said represented significant democratic progress, although there was some work to do.
"Looking ahead to the presidential elections due to be held at the beginning of 2008, the presidency calls on Armenia to investigate and resolve the procedural problems which still exist," it said in a statement.
"The presidency of the European Union is very much in favor of intensifying cooperation with Armenia."
Armenia is Russia's main ally in the Caucasus. It nestles on the southern edge of the region which has emerged as a major transit route for oil from Central Asia to Europe, and also borders Turkey and Iran.
The politics of the country are largely about personalities rather than policies. The mainstream opposition parties offer similar policies to the ruling coalition.
The Republican party's two allies will control around 35 percent of the new parliament, the election commission said.
Sarksyan has held various ministerial positions since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union before being made prime minister in March when his predecessor died of a heart attack.
"This election was the best election in the history of Armenia and has created a good base for the presidential elections next year," Armen Ashotyan, a Republican member of parliament, told Reuters.
"We will be favorites in the presidential race next year."
The main opposition leader is considered to be Artur Baghdasaryan, a former ally of President Kocharyan, and head of the Orinats Yerkir (Country of Laws) party.
Baghdasaryan's party won around 7 percent of the parliamentary vote, the election commission said, enough to clear the 5 percent barrier and win seats in Parliament.

Source: Reuters

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Armenians vote in poll seen as test of democracy

Publishes the article by Reuters.

[DijiTall]

BBC

These Armenian elections were an improvement over previous elections and were conducted largely in accordance with international standards.

OSCE spokesman

"The election campaign was dynamic with extensive media coverage. Election day was calm, with no major incidents reported, but a few cases of fraud schemes were observed," the OSCE said.

"These Armenian elections were an improvement over previous elections and were conducted largely in accordance with international standards," the report added.

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May 13 2007 11:23AM
Armenia parliamentary elections open, transparent - CIS observer mission

YEREVAN. May 13 (Interfax) - Armenia's parliamentary elections fully complied with the democratic standards, Vladimir Rushailo, the chief of the observer mission of the Commonwealth of Independent States, said.
"The elections were open, transparent and fair, and fully complied with the Armenian election legislation," Rushailo, the head of the CIS Executive Committee, told a news conference on Sunday.
The prosecutor general's decision to set up a group for preventing vote-rigging was important for keeping the elections within the democratic standards, he said.
"The Armenian authorities guaranteed the protection of citizens' electoral rights. The irregularities uncovered were mostly technical, and did not tell on the outcome of the elections," Rushailo said.
"Canvassing was open and the candidates had ample opportunity to bring their election programs to the voters," he said.
Rushailo announced that the elections had been monitored by 239 CIS observers, representing legislative, executive and federal agencies.

Source: Interfax

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no comments

[Երեխա]

chem jogum xi senc temaner bespredelum chi bacvum ?

[Mono]

Thanks Silver

So we achieved to build the democracy in Armenia

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This is completely WEIRD

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EU Presidency rates Armenia’s parliamentary election as free and fair


/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The German presidency of the European Union said on Sunday that weekend parliamentary elections in Armenia were "on the whole" conducted fairly and freely.

"The Presidency welcomes the fact that, compared to previous elections, significant progress has been made," says a statement PanARMENIAN.Net received from the RA Embassy in Germany.

It called on Armenia ahead of presidential elections in 2008 "to investigate and resolve the procedural problems which still exist, particularly those concerning vote-counting but also the isolated cases of irregularities which were observed."

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which sent 300 observers, said earlier on Sunday that the vote was a clear improvement over previous polls.

Source: PanARMENIAN.Net

[Arth-Gwyr]

Originally Posted by Mono

Thanks Silver

So we achieved to build the democracy in Armenia

Мы строили, строили и наконец построили демократию
Я доволен

[Mono]

Я думаю с такими темпами президентские выборы вообще будут выше международных норм.
Вон вчера по каналу Арменияtw говорили, что Армения первая в мире привнесла практику показа в прямом эфире подсчет голосов, до такого уровня многим европейским странам еще расти и расти

[Arth-Gwyr]

Армения устанавливает новые стандарты уровня демократизации!
Прогрессивное человечество берет равнение на нас!