OSCE WORRIED ABOUT ARMENIAN ELECTION CAMPAIGN
By Astghik Bedevian

Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
Feb 7 2008

International observers indicated Thursday their concerns about Prime
Minister Serzh Sarkisian’s heavy reliance on his government levers in
the Armenian presidential race and pledged to investigate a violent
incident that nearly disrupted a campaign rally by opposition candidate
Levon Ter-Petrosian.

Geert Ahrens, head of the main international vote-monitoring mission
deployed in Armenia by the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe, said Sarkisian’s "use of the position of prime minister
in the election campaign" could hamper the proper conduct of the
February 19 vote.

"There is no international rule that would prevent a prime minister
from participating as a candidate in a presidential race," Ahrens
told RFE/RL in an interview. "But such a situation, of course, puts
a heavy responsibility on the shoulders of the prime minister not to
use his office to promote his candidacy."

"Of course, it is a matter of concern when the line that should not
be overstepped is being overstepped," he said.

Sarkisian has come under opposition fire for capitalizing on his and
his Republican Party’s grip on many government bodies to gain extensive
coverage by Armenia’s leading TV stations and ensure high turnout
at his campaign rallies across the country. Speaking in parliament
on Wednesday, he argued that the Armenian Electoral Code does not
explicitly bar him from combining his prime-ministerial duties with
election-related activities.

"As you know elections in Armenia are monitored by numerous
observers," Sarkisian said in response to a question from an opposition
parliamentarian. "And if the observers say that I, as you claim, have
blatantly violated the law and inflicted great damage on the country,
I will think about this issue."

The prime minister also claimed that schoolteachers, students and other
public sector employees are not forced to attend his campaign rallies
as has been reported by the local press. "You can try and meet those
people [attending Sarkisian’s rallies] and ask whether they are kept
there by police or army cordons," he said. "The reputation of Armenia’s
future president is very dear to me and I will do everything in my
power to ensure that Armenia’s future president has a good reputation."

Sarkisian’s campaign spending is another source of controversy.

According to the Central Election Commission, it totaled 26.3 million
drams ($85,000) as of January 31, well below the 70 million-dram limit
set by the Electoral Code. Opposition politicians dismiss the figure
as fraudulent, saying that Sarkisian could not have flooded Yerevan
and just about every Armenian town and village with his campaign
billboards and posters with that much money.

The Ter-Petrosian campaign has also cried foul over Sarkisian’s
December 4 decision to form a special government commission dealing
with citizens’ grievances, saying that its activities amount to vote
buying. The opposition candidates’ aide claim that voters needing
financial and other assistance are being referred to the commission
by Sarkisian’s campaign offices.

Ter-Petrosian on Tuesday accused the OSCE observers of turning a blind
eye to this and other alleged violations. "They don’t see or don’t
want to see that," he said. "At least, there have been no preventive
steps, no statements on their part."

"We are dealing with this," Ahrens said, responding to the former
Armenian president’s claims. "If this is the case, then this would
of course be a way of using administrative resources that would not
be acceptable."

The OSCE mission chief also expressed concern about violence that
marred Ter-Petrosian’s Wednesday in Artashat, a town 30 kilometers
south of Yerevan. A group of pro-government youths there scuffled with
Ter-Petrosian’s loyalists and pelted them with stones in an apparent
attempt to disrupt the gathering. The ex-president condemned the
incident witnessed by two OSCE observers as a government "provocation"
aimed at derailing his campaign. Law-enforcement authorities claimed,
however, that Ter-Petrosian and his allies themselves provoked it
by making "offensive" remarks about Deputy Prime Minister Hovik
Abrahamian, Sarkisian’s Artashat-based campaign manager.

"We will certainly investigate this incident," Ahrens said. "We have
long-term observers everywhere in the country. They will talk to all
those involved and then submit a report to us. Then on that basis we
can form our judgment on this incident."

"Whoever is to blame, any such incident is deplorable," he added.