NEWLY-APPOINTED MEMBER OF CEC EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT ELECTORAL VIOLATIONS IN ARABKIR COMMUNITY
Noyan Tapan
Au g 15, 2008
YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, NOYAN TAPAN. A number of citizens who visited
recently the office of "Heritage" party expressed their concern about
the mass distribution of electoral bribes – by means of collection of
citizens’ passport data – by Albert Yeritsian, a possible candidate for
the post of head of Yerevan’s Arabkir community. The newly-appointed
member of the RA Central Electoral Commission (CEC) from "Heritage"
party Hovsep Khurshudian informed the head of the RA police Alik
Sargsian and the head of the RA National Security Service Gorik
Hakobian about it in his open letter of August 15. Copies of the
letter were sent to the prime minister Tigran Sargsian and the head
of the RA president’s control service Hovhannes Hovsepian.
According to H. Khurshudian, various citizens who came to the office
of "Heritage" told them that the heads of several hospitals and
polyclinics that are located in Arabkir community and are under
the jurisdiction of Yerevan mayor’s office have instructed the
residents of Arabkir district who work at these medical institutions
to secure certain number of voters in favor of A. Yeritsian and
prepare respective lists with passport data. The employees of these
institutions were threatened to be dismissed if they do not carry
out these instructions.
Taking into account the fact that the above mentioned actions
represent gross violations of the Electoral Code, H. Khurshudian
requested to use the necessary punitive measures in order to prevent
cases of administrative pressure on voters, distribution of electoral
bribes, other electoral violations at the pre-election stage and in
the preceding period, and to reveal and punish those guilty.