Lragir, Armenia
Feb 18 2008

DID CEC VIOLATE OR NOT VIOLATE THE LAW?

The decision of the Central Election Commission of Armenia made on
the eve to put a stamp on the last or the pre-last page of the
passport of a voter is a violation of the Election Code of Armenia,
stated Member of Parliament Stepan Safaryan from the Heritage Party
on February 18. He says there are no alternative statements in the
Election Code, it is set down clearly that the stamp should be put on
page 32 of the passport. Stepan Safaryan says most probably this
decision was made to get away with the stamps put in thousands of
passports which have been collected illegally long before the voting.
Stepan Safaryan thinks the sham stamps were put in the wrong place
and the decision of the CEC was made to settle this problem somehow.
However, Stepan Safaryan mentioned that they do not have evidence but
it is a fact that a great number of passports have been collected.

On the same day but at the Friday Club the deputy chair of the
Central Election Committee Abram Bakhchagulyan said the decision of
the CEC is not a violation of the Election Code, because the CEC is
empowered to regulate the activities of the election commissions.
Meanwhile, the decision that the stamp can be put on either of two
pages, according to Abram Bakhchagulyan, was made to make it clear
that if the last page of a citizen’s passport is not empty, the
commission can put the stamp on another page. Abram Bakhchagulyan
says the stamp is important, not the page.