HOVANNISIAN ACCEPTS ‘UNFREE’ ELECTION RESULT
By Anna Saghabalian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Aug 29 2007

The opposition Zharangutyun party accepted on Wednesday the official
outcome of a repeat parliamentary election which its leader Raffi
Hovannisian denounced as "fundamentally unfree and unfair."

A party representative claimed that holding democratic elections in
Armenia is practically impossible at present as its citizens readily
sell their votes to the highest bidder.

The election held in a constituency in central Armenia on Sunday saw
a candidate of the governing Republican Party (HHK) easily defeat
his rivals, among them Hovannisian. The latter got only 3.4 percent
of the vote, according to the district election commission.

In a statement on Monday, Hovannisian described the vote as deeply
flawed, complaining about a "variety of government levers and
resources being applied to voters in inappropriate and often unlawful
fashion." He at the same time congratulated the election winner,
Khachik Manukian.

The official vote results were unanimously endorsed by members of
Armenia’s Central Election Commission (CEC), including Zharangutyun
representative Zoya Tadevosian. "I can not fail to agree with the
election results," explained to journalists. "You know why? As I’ve
said before, all falsifications in Armenia take place outside polling
stations."

Tadevosian claimed, in particular, that the outcome of the repeat
election was largely decided by vote bribes handed out by Manukian and
two other pro-establishment candidates. She said election officials,
most of them government loyalists, must not be held responsible for
the illegal practice.

"The socioeconomic plight of our people is such that whatever we do
now, we can’t ensure fair elections. It is wrong to place that burden
on one party," Tadevosian said.

Still, the Zharangutyun representative, who monitored Sunday’s vote,
admitted that she personally did not witness any instance of vote
buying.

Zharangutyun spokesman Hovsep Khurshudian, meanwhile, said Tadevosian’s
stance reflects the party’s position and does not contradict
Hovannisian’s statement. Zharangutyun accepts the election outcome,
he said.

Tadevosian already highlighted the ambiguity of her party’s stance
earlier this month when she voted for Garegin Azarian’s reelection
as CEC chairman. The move contrasted with Hovannisian’s earlier
allegations that the Armenian authorities and the Azarian-led CEC in
particular stole two-thirds of votes cast for his party during the
nationwide parliamentary elections held on May 12.

According to the CEC, Zharangutyun garnered about 6 percent of the
vote, earning it 7 seats in the 131-member National Assembly.