TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL SHOCKED BY YESTERDAY’S ELECTIONS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
01.06.2009 17:48 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "We are just shocked by what we saw with our own
eyes. Never before were such kind of cynical and illegitimate elections
held in Armenia. If elections in our country are marred by such
disgrace, why do we conduct them at all?" Amalia Kostanyan, Chairwoman
of Transparency International-Armenia, told a news-conference.

Mr. Kostanyan distinguished 3 stages of falsifications and wrongdoings
during elections. First stage (08-10 a.m.): minor breaches, including
ballot box stuffing and repeated voting. Second stage (around 12:00):
intimidation of observers and journalists by skinheads and bodyguards
of some local leaders (authorities). Third stage (from 05:00 p.m.):
disputes among commission members on the number of ballots to be
cast in favor of this or that candidate. "Perhaps, the preliminary
agreement was breached," Ms. Kostanyan noted.

She particularly focused on polling station N.8 where there were no
opposition representatives. "I am sure that even if some representative
of Heritage Party had been present there, he wouldn’t have managed
to cope with the situation," she added.