ARMENIAN SPEAKER DECLINES TO PLEDGE CLEAN VOTE
By Ruzanna Stepanian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
March 15 2007

Parliament speaker Tigran Torosian said on Thursday that the May
parliamentary elections will be vital for Armenia’s future but
pointedly stopped short of promising that they will be free and fair.

Torosian made the point that the significance of the proper conduct
of the vote goes far beyond hundreds of millions in additional Western
assistance to Armenia, notably a $235 million aid package promised by
the United States under the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) program.

Visiting Yerevan last week, a senior official from a U.S. government
agency handling the scheme reiterated that the release of the funds is
contingent on "significant improvement over past [Armenian] elections."

Torosian said the official, John Hewko, told him that "unless there
are good elections, the program could be terminated." "During our
conversation I said that any assistance is certainly important for
Armenia," he said. "But these elections are even more significant
for Armenia’s future than tens of millions of dollars in aid."

The Armenian authorities have assured both the U.S. and the European
Union that the polls slated for May 12 will be more democratic than
the ones held until now.

But Torosian, who is a leading member of the governing Republican
Party (HHK), made no such forecasts on Thursday. "I can predict with
certitude only those things that depend only on myself," he told a
news conference.

Asked whether be is confident that the HHK will not resort to vote
rigging, Torosian replied, "Who do you mean by the Republicans? The
Republican Party has tens of thousands of members. Can anybody pledge
to control the actions of each of those tens of thousands of members?

I don’t think so."

"I can’t exclude that something [bad] involving a member of the
Republican Party might happen," the Armenian speaker added. He
claimed at the same time that the HHK leaders are committed to free
and fair elections

Two of those leaders, Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian and Minister
for Local Government Hovik Abrahamian, have played keys roles in
the conduct of the previous Armenian elections marred by serious
irregularities. Earlier this month, Abrahamian was appointed as HHK
campaign manager.

The ruling party, which makes no secret of its intention to again
get the largest number of seats in parliament, is already facing
opposition accusations of foul play. Reports in the Armenian press
have likewise alleged that the Republicans are illegally using their
grip on most central and local governments for that purpose. Party
officials deny the allegations.