Georgia: Armenian Vote
Armenia Now reports that an analyst believes that Armenians voting for the Georgian president, Mikhail Saakashvili, in last week’s election in fact voted against NATO membership. It’s kind of a bewildering argument, but anyway.
Seyran Petrosyan, based in the Armenian-populated town of Akhalkalaki, contends that Saakashvili’s clear victory in areas where ethnic Armenians live is a paradoxical reflection of the reluctance of Georgian-Armenians to see Georgia as a NATO member for fear of increased Turkish influence and a diminished role of Russia.
[…]
The data released by Georgia’s Central Election Commission shows that Saakashvili was a clear winner in all Armenian-populated areas of Georgia, with a high voter turnout registered in the Armenian-populated region of Samtskhe-Javakheti. Thus, the voter turnout in the most densely populated Armenian town of Akhalkalaki exceeded 65 percent.
However, chairman of the Javakhk compatriotic union in Armenia Shirak Torosyan claims the Armenian population of Javakheti treated the presidential polls in Georgia “with passivity bordering on total indifference.”
Well, it has to be said that perhaps not too much focus should be put on how Armenians and other ethnic minorities in the regions of Georgia voted. I’ve just spoken to one person who was in Akhalkalaki for the 5 December vote and he says that this indifference pretty much amounted to major electoral fraud.
Bribes were paid, parties were held, people collected passports and voted for others, and government employees campaigned for the incumbent. All just allegations, of course, but sounds a lot like Armenia. Well, at least the South Caucasus is consistent.
Unfortunately.
Well, just to confuse matters, I’ve just spoken to another Armenian from Javakheti (in Georgia) and he says he thinks most Armenians there are happy Saakashvili continues in power. He gives road-building and increasing pensions as the main reason.
So, as usual, it’s one opinion versus another and perhaps in such a situation it’s easy to understand why the international observers and community are more interested in stability and continuity rather than “revolutionary” change.
Personally speaking, however, I am deeply upset about the conduct of the pre-election campaign and think that while few question Saakashvili’s 50 percent, it was so close to call that uncertainty surrounds whether a second round should have been called or not.
Ultimately, however, i think the election was not one to be proud of. In some of the illegalities recorded by the OSCE, tactics were really disgraceful. Again, the observers should have been harsher in their statement as a result.
Comment by Onnik — January 10, 2008 @ 12:28 pm