It’s Your Choice Preliminary Report
Via Tirami Su, Armenia’s largest domestic observation organization, It’s Your Choice, has updated its web site and posted a short preliminary report on the 12 May parliamentary election. Although I’ve already posted about their press conference announcing that the 12 May vote was an improvement over past elections here, it’s worth linking to the full statement now it has been made available online.
On the election day the electoral procedures and vote counting process were organized in a comparatively quieter environment. However, there were shortcomings and violations outside the polling stations.
“It’s Your Choice” NGO monitors observed the parliamentary elections in all the polling stations and precincts of Armenia.
[…]
IYC finds that on the election day the voting and vote count processes in most polling stations were organized comparatively in a quieter environment. Voter lists were comparatively improved and there were fewer shortcomings in them. During these elections there were fewer voters recovering their suffrage through court appeal than during the previous elections. Also, the commissions have started relating to proxies and monitors in a better manner. According to the monitors, also the police was legally neutral and did not intimidate in electoral processes.
Notwithstanding, in parallel with the mentioned positive improvements there were also electoral violations and other shortcomings, which affected the legitimacy of the elections and are not considered democratic.
[…]
IYC finds that the electoral procedures have been significantly improved in Armenia, but meanwhile states that Armenia still has to take efforts to improve the democratic electoral traditions. There is a need to improve the Electoral Code to fully comply it with the international standards and create such mechanisms, which will provide adequate independence and balance in electoral commissions.
The full text of the statement is here.
Meanwhile, one of the U.S.-Armenian community’s boys in Congress appears to be getting a little too carried away with the parliamentary election. Although it was a vast improvement over past elections and represents a real basis to build upon for for future elections, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it “fair,” but anyway.
Still, like I said, it’s a step in the right direction if all the negative aspects of the election can now be addressed by all the relevant players. If they can, we might very well be on the path of democratization for the first time in the 8.5 years I’ve been here, so let’s hope. Anyway, Pallone’s statement indicates the importance for Armenia to be democratic.
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