LEO PLATVOET MADE A 25-MINUTE SPEECH ON THE ARMENIAN ELECTIONS
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[08:57 pm] 25 June, 2007
Today, Leo Platvoet made a 25-minute speech on the Armenian
presidential elections at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe.
The Parliamentary elections in Armenia, held on 12 May 2007, were
largely held in line with Council of Europe commitments and standards
for democratic elections, although shortcomings remain. The Armenian
Authorities, as well as other electoral stakeholders, showed the
political will to address previous shortcomings and to improve the
conduct of these elections, although some issues remain unaddressed,
he said.
Regrettably, the shortcomings and irregularities, some of which
were serious, observed during the crucial vote count and tabulation
processes stain the positive preliminary assessment.
To date, none of the elections organised in Armenia since
its independence were considered to be conducted in line with
Council of Europe and other international standards for democratic
elections. The Parliamentary elections on 12 may 2007 were therefore
a crucial touchstone for Armenia to demonstrate its political will to
organise genuinely democratic elections in line with the commitments
it undertook when acceding to the Council of Europe.
11. The Parliamentary elections should be seen in the context of
the upcoming Presidential Elections in Armenia, which are foreseen
to take place in 2008. In those elections, the incumbent President,
Mr Robert Kocharyan, is precluded from standing for re-election as
a result of the constitutional limit of two consecutive terms.
The opposition in Armenia is fragmented. The largest opposition
coalition during the 2003 elections, the Justice Bloc, fell apart
and its members were all participating in these elections individually.
Moreover, most opposition parties seemed to have lost a degree of
popular support, and their position seemed to have weakened, as a
result of their decision to boycott the Constitutional referendum
in 2005.
None of the following speeches dwelt on the Armenian elections.
It is noteworthy that Armen Rustamyan and Hermine Bisharyan participate
at the PACE summer session.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
