Armenian party urges international groups to monitor polls

Armenian party urges international groups to monitor polls

Arminfo, Yerevan
6 Feb 07

An Armenian opposition party has urged international organizations to
monitor the parliamentary election in the country, Arminfo has
reported.

In a statement made public in parliament, the National Unity Party
(NUP) said that the dangerous situation exists in Armenia and Armenian
statehood is in jeopardy. Therefore the party asked the OSCE, the
Council of Europe, the CIS member states and foreign ambassadors in
Armenia to monitor the entire election process.

The party accused the authorities of encouraging those flagrantly
violating the Electoral Code. The NUP said that there are forces that
"are generously distributing pre-election bribes in the form of
potatoes, charitable dinners and gifts", Arminfo quoted the statement
as saying.

The NUP also complained about the high price for election ads and
about Public TV’s refusal to give free air time to party leader
Artashes Geghamyan. The party said that it was made under direct
orders from President Robert Kocharyan. "Everything has been made to
ensure that only President Kocharyan and political forces and figures
who are under his control are provided with free air time," the
statement read.