REPORT ON PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OBSERVATION IN ARMENIA PRESENTED AT PACE SESSION

arminfo
2008-04-14 18:46:00

ArmInfo. A report on the presidential election observation in Armenia
has been presented at a PACE session. The author of the report is John
Prescott, the PACE rapporteur on election in Armenia and rapporteur
of the Ad-Hoc of PACE Bureau.

The report says that according to the election assessment presented
by international election observation mission the next day after the
presidential election, the 19 February presidential election in the
Republic of Armenia was administered mostly in line with OSCE and
Council of Europe commitments and standards. The mission included
delegations of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, European parliament,
OSCE/ODIHR. According to this assessment, the Armenian authorities made
genuine efforts to address shortcomings noted in previous elections,
including the legal framework, however, further improvements and
commensurate political will are required to guarantee absolute
implementation of legislation’s items. In this connection, the Ad-Hoc
Committee calls on Armenian authorities to solve the problems mentioned
in the document, particularly, the lack of public confidence in the
electoral process and its results. The Constitution’s restrictions
with respect to the rights of citizens having dual citizenship run
counter to the CoE standards and should be abolished.

The Ad-hoc Committee expresses deep concern with the lack of public
confidence in the electoral process and its results. The lack of
confidence is one of the main obstacles for consolidation of the
society and deepening of democracy in Armenia. Unfortunately, unequal
conditions of election campaign, shortcomings and violations fixed on
the election day, as well as the ways to deal with complaints fail to
contribute to growth of public confidence in the electoral process, the
report notes. The Ad-Hoc Committee expresses pity over the fact that
election bodies, particularly, the CEC considered the complaints, this
undermined the public confidence in objectivity of election bodies. The
report points out that a number of persons interested in the election
campaign displayed a low level of confidence in judicial bodies.

The report stresses the significance of observance of the law and
order by all presidential candidates, at the same time the issue
of independence of the judicial system is raised. This must cause
the Assembly’s special concern, the report says. The lack of formal
sessions of the CEC undermined the transparency of the election bodies’
work, it says. According to the authors, the Feb 19 election distinctly
showed the restrictions in efficiency of putting stamps in documents
to avoid repeat voting. It is pointed out that this measure was taken
to avoid fraud. In this connection, the Ad-Hoc Committee appeals to
Armenia’s authorities to use ink for marking fingers, this method was
efficiently used in a number of other European countries. The report
doesn’t cover the analysis of the March 1 events followed by the
announcement of a state of emergency. According to the authors, it is
obvious that the state of emergency was caused by the lack of public
confidence in the electoral process and legitimacy of its results.

The authors of the report also point out that the legislative field
of Armenia should be reformed urgently. These reforms should be held
in a dialogue between the authorities and the opposition and aimed at
elimination of any control or prevalence of interests of a political
force or party over the election bodies or electoral process, the
report notes. Yet, the international observers think that further
work should be done for commensurate political will to be displayed to
address remaining challenges such as: the absence of a clear separation
between State and party functions, the lack of public confidence in the
electoral process and ensuring equal treatment of election contestants.