ELECTION 2007 IS ALREADY ILLEGITIMATE

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 27 2006

Felix Khachatryan, the representative of Ardarutiun Alliance to the
Central Electoral Commission, stated during the discussion at the
National Press Club today that even if the parliamentary election in
2007 is held without ballot stuffing, it can already be considered
as illegitimate. Felix Khachatryan mentioned that when the Electoral
Code provision on including judges in the electoral commission was
defined as unconstitutional, possibility for illegality multiplied.

According to the representative of the Central Electoral Commission,
now the judges must be replaced by members, who will be appointed by
another force. According to the law, the members of the commission
must be trained. Meanwhile, the deadline for applying for training is
over, says Felix Khachatryan and concludes that the new force cannot
appoint members with training to 2000 commissions. Meanwhile, the
decision of the Constitutional Court that it is unconstitutional to
include judges in the electoral commissions shows that the ministry of
justice of Armenia is not competent, because it approved the provision
on including judges, despite the warnings of the opposition that it
is unconstitutional.

Besides, Felix Khachatryan touched upon the referendum on Constitution
held last year, which was falsified severaly, and stained this
government, he says. In a year after the referendum Felix Khachatryan
presented the final record he had refused to sign, saying that
there were 1 million false votes. This record contains information
about 10 thousand ballots which were printed but were not taken to
the polling stations. "Where did they go?" Felix Khachatryan asks a
year later. Besides, he refers to a record of two polling stations
in Yerevan about 1700-1800 irregularities, whereas the final general
record states only 1500 irregularities.