Anatolian Times, Turkey
May 12 2007
Ex-Soviet Armenia votes in key test for democracy
05-12-2007
Armenians voted in parliamentary elections Saturday in what is being
billed as a litmus test for democracy in this impoverished ex-Soviet
country.
Surveys show Armenians are hungry for reform, with an overwhelming
majority supporting radical change, but polls predict pro-government
parties will come out ahead in the election.
The vote is seen as a key test of democratic reform in the small
mountainous republic wedged between Turkey and Iran, where no
election has been judged fair since independence with the collapse of
the Soviet Union in 1991.
It is also a dress rehearsal for a presidential vote next year at the
end of President Robert Kocharian’s second term. Prime Minister Serzh
Sarkisian, Kocharian’s chosen successor, is expected to use the
parliamentary vote as a springboard to launch his presidential
campaign.
More than 20 opposition parties are running and analysts say these
divisions have scuttled chances of defeating two pro-government
parties — Sarkisian’s ruling Republican party and the Prosperous
Armenia party headed by millionaire former World Arm Wrestling
Champion Gagik Tsarukian.
Opposition leaders say the vote will be rigged and are already
planning street demonstrations on Sunday to pressure the government
to overturn the results.
A few hours after polls opened, the Central Elections Commission said
voting was proceeding normally.
"Everything is going well, we haven’t registered any problems," CEC
Spokeswoman Tsovinar Khachatrian said.
Opposition officials alleged Saturday that pro-government parties,
fearful of losing the election, had resorted to bribing voters.
"We have reports from across the country of massive amounts of bribes
being paid by pro-government parties right before the start of the
election," said Tigran Mkrtchian, a spokesman for the opposition
Country of Law party. He claimed voters were being paid between 5,000
Armenian drams (10 euros) and 20,000 drams (41 euros).
The United States and European Union have repeatedly warned of
negative consequences if no improvement is seen over past elections.
US officials have said the provision of 235 million dollars (175
million euros) in aid to Armenia under the Millennium Challenge Fund
would be threatened if the vote is deemed unfair.
The EU has warned that a democratic election is necessary if Armenia
wants to continue to participate in the European Neighbourhood Policy
(ENP) programme, under which the EU has pledged to build stronger
economic and political ties with the country.
Cuts in foreign assistance could be disastrous for Armenia, where
more than 30 percent of people live on less than two dollars (1.50
euros) a day.
Kocharian has called on voters to support pro-government parties,
warning of instability if the opposition comes to power.
"If the two most important governmental institutions — the president
and the parliament — start a confrontation, the people will be the
ones to suffer," he said on Armenian television.
About 2.3 million of Armenia’s three million people are registered to
vote in elections for 131 seats in the National Assembly.
Ninety of the parliament’s members will be elected from party lists,
while the remaining 41 seats will go to the winners of individual
mandates.
Hundreds of local and international observers are monitoring the
vote, including more than 300 from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe.
Polls will close at 1500 GMT, with preliminary results expected
within 24 hours.