International Observers Cite Multiple Violations in Armenian Elections

YEREVAN (A.W.)–Beginning on March 22, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and the European Parliament (EP) began a joint election-monitoring mission that lasted until the elections on May 6.

In their 13-page preliminary conclusions, made public on May 7, they started by characterizing the May 6 Parliamentary elections in Armenia as “a competitive, vibrant, and largely peaceful campaign.” However, in much of the rest of the report, they discussed shortcomings and violations: “An unequal playing field due to violations of campaign provisions and cases of pressure on voters, as well as deficiencies in the complaints and appeals process were cause for concern,” they stated. Below is a summary of their findings.

Prior to election day, the elections were carried out in an “overall professional and transparent manner.” Although “generally calm and peaceful,” however, election day was “marked by organizational problems and undue interference in the process, mostly by party representatives.”

Although voter lists were available for inspection before the elections, their accuracy was “negatively affected by insufficient regulation of data exchange between various institutions.”

The country’s Electoral Code, as it related to campaign rules, was sometimes violated, mostly by local authorities and some parties, noted the report. “This included teachers being involved in campaign events during school hours, gifts to people and communities from organizations connected to political parties during the campaign period, and the posting of campaign materials in schools and municipal buildings. These observed cases contributed to an unequal playing field for electoral contestants and, together with cases of pressure on voters, are in contravention of Paragraph 7.7 of the OSCE 1990 Copenhagen Document. This underscores the need for fair and proper implementation of the new Electoral Code by all stakeholders.”

The OSCE also voiced its concern over the lack of confidence in the “integrity” of the electoral process by political parties and the public.

As to the Electoral Code, the report noted it “unduly limits the right to file complaints.” It also did not allow plaintiffs to appeal to a higher court.

Although the new Electoral Code, adopted in May 2011, provides an overall “sound framework” to conduct fair elections, “Its fair and proper implementation by all stakeholders is as important as the law itself.” The report also noted that the law had “a number of substantive shortcomings.”

Election administration, voter, and candidate registration

Regarding voter lists, the OSCE found that the exchange of information between government institutions was “insufficiently regulated.” For instance, because the Civil Status Registry did not provide “timely and sufficient data” on deceased persons on the voter registry, the deceased individuals were removed from the list “on the basis of written statements of relatives and/or neighbors.”

Similarly, on the issue of voters registered at empty buildings, “OSCE/ODIHR LTOs verified six cases of demolished buildings or of buildings damaged during the 1988 earthquake where voters are still registered.” The buildings were in Gyumri and constituency 6 in Yerevan.

Voters had a “wide” choice, as the eight political parties and the one bloc had a total of 1,016 candidates running in the proportional part of the elections. Twelve candidates subsequently withdrew. In the majoritarian constituencies, 155 candidates registered. Two candidates were rejected, and 18 withdrew. One self-nominated candidate in constituency 12 was beaten on April 6. He withdrew his candidacy soon after. The matter is under investigation.

Campaign environment, and finance

The report noted the campaign was “marked by allegations of deficiencies in the voter lists, vote buying, issuance of passports to facilitate election fraud, and voter intimidation.”

It also noted that the police pressed no charges against potential violators. “Many cases were closed,” it continued, “some after only apparently cursory investigation.”

The OSCE also raised concern over instances of voters pressured to attend Republican Party (RPA) rallies. In its footnote, the OSCE listed some of these cases:

“For example, on 27 April, the RPA rally organizer in Gyumri (Shirak province) checked attendance by asking all present Gazprom employees to raise their hands. At the same event, the Director of the Gyumri Department of Cultural Affairs pledged his staff’s support to the RPA candidate. Several participants at that rally informed OSCE/ODIHR LTOs [long-term observers] that they were Gazprom employees who had been ordered to leave earlier from work and attend the rally. In Talin (Aragatsotn province), LTOs noted staff from the local tax office discussing the fact that they had been released early from work to attend an RPA rally. In Armavir province, a number of residents separately informed the LTOs that they had been threatened with job loss by the authorities, the mayor, and the RPA if they attended a Heritage rally scheduled for the same day. In Syunik province, the head of a village made a list of RPA supporters and a ‘list of suspects,’ asking the local school director to verify them. The school director confirmed this to LTO, and presented herself as an RPA supporter. The head of Ageshat village (Armavir province) informed the LTOs that he had urged campaigners of a self-nominated candidate to leave the village and that he supports his brother who is running for the RPA.”

The authors of the report then stated that such cases raise questions over how free voters actually were to “discuss and learn about all contestants’ views and cast their vote free of retribution.”

The report also noted how administrative resources were misused, especially in cases of campaigning in schools, and even universities. “OSCE/ODIHR LTOs observed numerous cases where the RPA actively involved teachers and pupils in campaign events, including during school hours.” Sometimes school administrators asked parents to attend RPA events. Party posters and banners were also seen on school grounds. In its footnotes, the report noted, “Cases of teachers and students being released from school to attend RPA rallies or being asked to attend rallies after school hours were observed by OSCE/ODIHR LTOs in Charensavan, Ejmiatsin, Hrazdan, Nor Hacin, Vardenis, Vanadzor, and Yerevan.”

The RPA wasn’t the only political party cited for breaking the Electoral Code. Multigroup, a company owned by Prosperous Armenia leader Gagik Tsarukyan, apparently distributed around 500 tractors during the campaign period.

On election day

“While opening procedures were assessed positively in almost all polling stations observed, voting was assessed negatively in 10 percent, which is considerable,” read the report. Eight percent of the observed polling stations had campaign materials outside, which violates electoral laws.

Observers also noted that 15 percent of polling stations were negatively affected by “lack of organization or disputes between PEC [Precinct Election Commission] members and party/candidate proxies or observers.” Sixteen percent of polling stations were overcrowded, and 15 percent had “tension or unrest.” Almost all polling stations had proxies, and 87 percent had observers.

“Unauthorized people, mostly proxies, interfered in or directed the work of 12 percent of the PECs observed. International observers reported cases of people attempting to influence voters on who to vote for (4 percent of polling stations observed), as well as cases of intimidation of voters (2 percent). On election day, allegations of vote buying were reported to the police and several criminal cases were initiated,” read the report.

In addition, observers noted some serious violations, “including group voting (12 percent of polling stations observed), proxy voting (4 percent), multiple voting (2 percent), and series of seemingly identical signatures on voter lists (2 percent). In 7 percent of polling stations observed, ballot boxes were not properly sealed at the time of observation. The secrecy of the vote was not always ensured, as not all voters marked their ballots in secret (12 percent) or put them in envelopes before leaving the voting booth (13 percent). International observers noted several instances where videotaping by proxies or media representatives violated the secrecy of the vote.”

In nearly one fifth of observed polling stations, the vote counting process was “assessed negatively.” Some PECs failed to begin counting the votes immediately after voting was closed, while others did not take the required steps before beginning the count, such as counting the number of voter signatures on the voter lists. Furthermore, according to the report, “A few PECs performed the count in a non-transparent manner. Unauthorized people participated in one in four counts observed. International observers reported isolated cases of serious violations, such as falsification of results or protocols (four cases) or indications that ballot box stuffing had occurred earlier (five cases). Figures on the results protocols frequently did not reconcile, one in three PECs observed had problems completing the protocols, and one in four PECs did not post copies of the protocols for public scrutiny.”

Regarding the tabulation process, it was “assessed positively” in 33 out of 41 Territorial Election Commissions (TECs). The process was transparent in most TECs, but overcrowding made them inadequate to process the PEC protocols. “International observers reported that many PEC results protocols were not fully completed and that frequently arithmetical errors had to be corrected by the TECs (in accordance with the law). A few cases of problems with the data processing of results were reported.”

The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission started its work in Armenia on March 22, with 17 experts in Yerevan, and 24 long-term observers deployed throughout the country. On May 6, 349 short-term observers visited 1,000 polling stations out of a total of 1,982. The observers came from 42 countries. They included 60 observers from OSCE PA, 25 from PACE, and 10 from EP.

To read the full report, click here.