ARMENIA CONSTITUTIONAL COURT VOTES DOWN OPPOSITION APPEAL

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
June 10, 2007 Sunday 08:17 PM EST

The Armenian Constitutional Court voted down an appeal filed by the
opposition demanding to recognize invalid the returns of the May
12 parliamentary elections in the republic. Constitutional Court
Chairman Gagik Arutyunyan said in the Sunday court ruling that the
election returns, which the Central Election Committee approved,
are left in force. The ruling passed by the Constitutional Court is
final and cannot be repealed.

The Constitutional Court ruled that some violations and inaccuracies
were committed during the parliamentary elections, but they could
affect greatly the final returns. The Central Election Committee will
submit for investigation in the Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office
reports about these violations, which were committed in 60 out of
1,923 polling stations.

The number of violations during the latest voting reduced as compared
with the previous elections, and the turnout was higher, particularly
among young people. The Constitutional Court focused attention on a
low training level of members of election committees, as well as on
cases, when voters were not informed about the date of elections.

The Constitutional Court has tried an appeal of four opposition
parties since June 1. They appealed against the returns of the recent
parliamentary elections in the republic. The opposition parties
"Republic", "New Times", "Orinats Erkir" (Country of the Law) and the
election bloc "Impeachment" offered to recognize invalid the results of
the elections in the National Assembly of Armenia, deputy chairman of
the court Volodya Oganesyan emphasized. They attached to their appeal
7,000 pages of materials, in which they cited examples of bribery
during the election campaign, violations of the canvassing rules.

The opposition claims that during the election campaign and on the
voting day several parties exerted strong influence on voters. The
oppositionists affirmed that not all parties had equal conditions
during the election campaign on TV, and the ruling party had some
advantages.

International observers assessed highly the parliamentary elections
in Armenia.

OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel
Moratinos, who visited Armenia on June 4, congratulated the Armenian
people on very successful parliamentary elections, which were assessed
positively in the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe. He believes that these successful elections will contribute
to the development and consolidation of the democratic process in
Armenia. Moratinos expressed confidence that the presidential elections
due in Armenia next year will be held in the same positive way.