18TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF ACEEEO STARTS IN YEREVAN
Noyan Tapan
Sep 3, 2009
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 3, NOYAN TAPAN. The 18th Annual Conference of the
Association of Central and Eastern European Election Officials (ACEEEO)
started in Yerevan on September 3. The main theme of the conference is
the Judicial Protection of Electoral Rights. The conference has been
organized by the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia and ACEEEO
under the patronage of the OSCE Yerevan Office and the Armenia Office
of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). Among
its participants are about 150 representatives of 32 countries and
various international organizations.
"The problem of efficient protection of electoral rights exists today
in many democratic countries. In this respect I attach great importance
to international cooperation and the exchange of experience," the
RA National Assembly Speaker Hovik Arahamian stated in his speech of
welcome at the conference.
In his words, the theme of the conference "addresses the most
complex issues related to elections today". "No one wants to be
defeated at elections. In case of losing a political struggle, many
are tempted to dispute the election outcome. For that reason all
democratic countries have come to a decision to solve such issues
through independent judicial authority. No two truths can exist at
the same time, especially when the matter concerns a hard-fought
political struggle. Under such conditions a body which can make a
final and irreversible conclusion about the contradictions of the
competing political forces is the only independent and strong judicial
authority," the NA speaker said.
ACEEEO Secretary General Zoltan Toth said that the main slogan of the
Association is "Power of Voting Papers and not Bullets". According to
him, the ACEEEO, a non-profit organization independent from political
parties and governments, was founded in 1991. Its goal is to address
issues related to elections in the region. It currently has 23 member
states, while Slovenia and Kosovo will join it soon.