Ahead of next month’s Global Voices Online Summit in Budapest, Hungary, I’ve just compiled a backgrounder on the role blogs played during the recent presidential election and especially in its immediate aftermath. Armenia will be specifically included in a session, The Wired Electorate in Emerging Democracies.

Arguably the most active country in the South Caucasus when it comes to blogging, the content and relevance of blogs on Armenia was at first nothing really worth writing home about. Most posts by foreigners living in the capital almost entirely focused on how good their lives were while others were simply copy and paste exercises reproducing articles without comment. Perhaps the only time when bloggers started to write original posts was whenever the Armenian Genocide came into the focus of the international media.

Even so, the situation slowly started to change in the run-up to last year’s parliamentary election as the political climate intensified in preparation for the inevitable transfer of power which occurred during this year’s presidential election. Under the constitution, the president is prohibited from holding office for two consecutive terms and as the then incumbent head of state was coming to the end of his second, Armenia would elect a new leader.

Of course, this being the former Soviet Union where vote-rigging and vote-buying are as much part of the election process as physically casting a vote, it was make or break time for the radical extra-parliamentary opposition in the country. And with the broadcast media controlled by the government, it was only natural that the Internet would be seen as a natural medium to disseminate alternative information.

The full post is available on Global Voices Online.

With 2008 less than a day away at time of writing, it seems only appropriate to take a look back at the blogging highlights in the Caucasus for 2007. Certainly, although blogging is still largely underdeveloped, the year has seen some major highlights, especially with regards to stories that also made headlines worldwide. In the past this has not been the case, but the signs for Armenian and Georgian blogging look very promising indeed, and not least because the first two months of 2008 will see crucial presidential elections take place in both republics.

Although the same might be true for Azerbaijan as its presidential election scheduled for late next year looms closer, the elections seem to have encouraged citizens, activists and journalists to blog. Other high profile events also seem to have pushed more bloggers to engage in online discussion on key issues, especially in the arguably more evolved Armenian blogging scene. Interestingly, however, the first major blogging event of the year came on 19 January 2007 when journalist and editor, Hrant Dink, was murdered in Istanbul, Turkey.

Although Dink was a Turkish citizen and resident in Armenia’s neighbor to the West, he was also an ethnic Armenian and prolific in his calls for reconciliation between Armenians and Turks. His views might have alienated himself from the larger Armenian Diaspora who consider that Genocide Recognition is the most important issue facing Armenians today, but the point was that his assassination shocked the world, including many Turks in Turkey itself as well as those with no links to Armenian circles at all.

The full post is available on Global Voices Online.

Armenians like to consider themselves important. It’s not uncommon to hear people remark that everyone considers themselves to be a king or general, or deserving of consideration or privileges over and above the law. This is especially true at times of elections when candidates from obscure or insignificant groups appear out of nowhere, fail to get anyway and then declare that their votes were stolen.

However, this latest story from RFE/RL eclipses that. Israel Hakobkokhian, a former boxing champion, wants to run for president. There’s just one problem, though, he can’t afford to do so and has appealed to the president to intervene so that he can run even though few other than his relatives, friends or neighbours are likely to vote for him.

The Visa and Passport Department has provided Israel Hakobkokhian, 47, with evidence of his 10-year citizenship and permanent residence in Armenia required under Armenian law for a person to stand for president. However, also according to the law, the nonpartisan former boxer’s documents cannot be accepted by the Central Election Commission until he pays a sum of 8 million drams (about $26,500) as an election bond.

Hakobkokhian, who had successfully represented the Soviet Union in amateur boxing competitions throughout the 1980s, said potential buyers of his medals from world and European championships are interested only in their gold content. Now he plans to pawn his entire collection of medals “on bearable terms”.

Meeting with journalists on Thursday, Hakobkokhian read out his appeal to President Robert Kocharian, standing.

“Dear King of All Armenians Robert Kocharian. Please, assist me in pawning all my medals that I earned with my blood and sweat at the Central Bank, or any other bank,” he declared pompously. “Your assistance will be to ensure terms on which other states extend loans to our country.”

[…]

Last May Hakobkokhian stood as an independent candidate in a Yerevan single-member constituency. Finishing a distant third in the race, Hakobkokhian refused to concede his defeat and went on a hunger strike, which he ended only after being visited by Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian.

The full post is available on the Armenia Election Monitor 2008.

With less than five or six months to go before next year’s presidential election, Serzh Sarkisian and Levon Ter Petrosian are not the only ones attempting to attract a following for the vote. As mentioned in a previous post, so too is the Sksela (It’s Started) youth movement, a loose grouping of young people hoping to establish themselves as the Armenian equivalent of other similar groups in the post-Soviet space.

Sksela first came to prominence in the run-up to the 12 May parliamentary election. In April, EurasiaNet published my article on the movement. Since then, however, interest in Sksela has waned and observers were never convinced they could mobilize significant numbers of youth in Yerevan, let alone Armenia, anyway.

Youth in newspaper hats stand on street corners and read aloud from Armenian dailies. Masked young people march by parliament yelling “Don’t Eat Too Much!” at deputies. It’s election season in Armenia, and with the parliamentary vote just over a month away, one unconventional youth group is waging weekly war on widespread political apathy.

[…]

The group claims that its purpose is not overtly political, and, at first glance, for many passers-by, the February march through town that also aimed to “wake up society from its winter slumber” appeared to be just a celebration of the traditional Lenten holiday of Barekendan. But hidden among the color and noise which define every Sksela event, a political message is becoming more evident as the May 12 vote approaches.

[…]

Some observers are already trying to make comparisons between Sksel a and Georgia’s Kmara (Enough) or Ukraine’s Pora! (It’s Time!), youth groups that played key roles in those countries’ respective 2003 and 2004 revolutions.

The full post is available on the 2008 Presidential Election Monitor Blog.

RFE/RL reports that the U.S. Deputy Assistance of State Matthew Bryza is in town and has praised the conduct of the recent parliamentary election in Armenia. Although the more radical elements in civil society and the opposition allege widespread fraud, falsification and intimidation, most local and international election observers instead believe that the vote marked a significant improvement over past elections.

However, it is important to note that this does not mean that the election met international standards or is on par with the conduct of elections held in the West, or even most recently, in neighbouring Turkey. Bryza also made it clear that there was still room for significant improvement, but the main point is that international bodies now consider Armenia to be on the right path in terms of democratization.

“I would like to recognize and congratulate Armenia for its success in holding what appears to be the freest and fairest election in this phase of Armenia’s independence,” Bryza told reporters, echoing the findings of Western election observers.

“These elections were a real step forward in the development of democracy in Armenia,” he said. “These elections brought the Armenian electoral process closer to international standards than any previous election. But there is still some room to go.”

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Connected to the coming presidential election is the recent parliamentary election in Armenia. Indeed, the May vote was as much about next year’s presidential election which will see Kocharian pass on power presumably to a hand-picked successor than who will sit in the Armenian National Assembly. Some would argue that in actual fact, it was only about that which is why journalists, analysts and international organizations continue to examine the conduct of the parliamentary election and not least as it relates to improvements that will need to be made by early next year.

Transitions Online (TOL) is the latest publication to look at the parliamentary election, and interestingly enough, focuses on Raffi Hovannisian, the US-born first Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia who has made no secret of his intention to run for president in 2008.

The full post is here.

I’ve heard on the grapevine — well, actually from a very significant individual involved in the electoral process here — that attempts will be made to resolve the issue of absentee voting for the presidential election early next year. In the recent parliamentary election, the right to vote for Armenian citizens living or working abroad was actually taken away.

[…]

Interestingly, this issue has also been raised with regards to the question of the restriction on dual citizenship being lifted in the November 2005 referendum to amend the Constitution although the issue of voting rights for ethnic Armenians in the Diaspora still remains unclear to me. However, some consider that such a development would have a significant impact on the conduct and outcome of future elections in Armenia.

The full post is here.

PanArmenian.net reports that the final verdict on the 12 May parliamentary election has been made at the opening of the summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. As has been noted on this blog and by many other observers, the election did represent some improvement over past elections although significant problems still remain. The opposition also failed to offer an alternative.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In general, parliamentarian election in Armenia met the commitments taken by the country in front of the Council of Europe, Leo Platvoet, the head of PACE mission on observing parliamentarian elections of Armenia stated, speaking in the opening of PACE’s summer session in Strasbourg.

“The May 12 parliamentarian elections in Armenia were held mostly in accordance with the commitments taken in front of the CoE and democratic standards. However, shortcomings still remain. Armenian authorities, as well as other participants of the electoral processes displayed political will for improving the process of organizing elections, though some problems remain yet,” Platvoet stressed.

According to the rapporteur, shortcomings and inaccuracies some of which are rather serious, were fixed in the vote counting process, which casts shadow on the preliminary positive evaluation.

“After gaining independence not a single election was held in compliance with democratic standards in Armenia. “The May 12, 2007 parliamentarian elections became a “try cock”, which demonstrated Armenia’s political wish to organize true democratic elections. Unfortunately, it seems that the greater part of opposition parties lost the support of people and weakened its positions after deciding to boycott the constitutional referendum in 2005,” the report underlines.

[…]

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.

Armenian drams © Onnik Krikorian/Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007

As most of us realize, the 12 May parliamentary election was not determined by the kind of falsification we’ve seen in past elections here. Indeed, almost everyone who entered a polling station on voting day was surprised at how orderly things were for the most part. However, many of us also suppose that those we saw being bussed in to vote were part of some larger operation to determine the outcome of the election in the easiest way possible.

If many among the electorate care neither for the government or the opposition, appeal to their pockets instead — pay them for their votes. Let’s face it, corruption and bribery define almost every walk of life in Armenia — from the very top to the very bottom. Hetq Online has just posted an interview with lawyer Hrayr Tovmasyan on this reality and why it might have manifested itself so prominently in this year’s election.

The prevailing mentality that nothing will change anyway is deeply embedded in the populace. According to my observations, a large segment of society thus believes that “whoever is meant to win, will win” and given that their vote is meaningless anyway they might as well profit from voting. In other words, accepting a bribe. Another important factor is the poor socio-economic situation. I often portray the Armenian bribe taker as someone who has spent a long time in the desert without food or water. Suddenly, two people appear. One promises to give him a piece of bread and a glass of water if our desert dweller votes in his favor. The second promises to show him the road to follow to reach a supply of both food and water. The man takes the immediate offer of the bread and water, not realizing that he’ll still be in the desert for the foreseeable future. I should add that the man also isn’t convinced that he’ll be shown the correct path in order to reach the promised food and drink. There’s another reason as well. Around her, if we catch someone stealing money from our pocket we naturally call him a thief. But those who stuff ballots and deal in bribes, etc, are not considered criminals in our society. On the contrary, they’re seen as the “clever” ones.

[…]

In Armenia, holding on to the reins of power is the most direct route to self-enrichment. Power allows one to be in an ideal position to partake in the distribution of wealth and property. Political power also makes it easier to defend one’s accumulated wealth as other, legal means, to do so are absent; namely a free and fair court system. So we are faced with both bribe givers and takers. Together they form a self-perpetuating cycle. Election fraud has changed in form only. Whereas in 2003, it surfaced in the form of beatings, theft, etc, today, the purveyors of fraud go knocking from door-to-door, making deals and handing out bribes.

[…]

The observers surely felt that something was going on during the election process but understood that they were in no position to make any blanket statements to this effect. But we can talk about widespread election bribes because we are members of this society and are intimately aware of who’s who and what’s what. The observers didn’t have such a vantage point. Thus, we can’t really blame the observers for turning a blind eye on the problem of election fraud. And bribery is one of it’s most complicated criminal manifestations.

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Liberty Squared, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian/Oneworld Multimedia 2007

Following on from Saturday’s crushing defeat in the parliamentary election and the rather pitiful protest by the radical opposition the next day, one of Impeachment’s leaders, newspaper editor Nikol Pashinian, yesterday launched a sit-in strike in Yerevan’s Liberty Square. Pashinian hopes that he will be able to draw attention to, as well as attract public support for, tomorrow’s last-ditch effort by the radical opposition to protest the outcome of the vote.

PanArmenian.Net has more.

PanARMENIAN.Net/ Leader of “Impeachment” opposition block, editor-in-chief of “Haykakan Zhamanak” newspaper Nikol Pashinyan launched a sit-down strike on the Liberty Square May 16 in Yerevan. Pashinyan protests against “falsification of elections and the current situation in the country”. He said, the sit-down strike “is not a desperate move, but a move against despair, which forced a man, a citizen who has the right to rule and who has given in that right to a pair of criminals”. “It is also an action of hope and prove of the fact that we will not submit the existing situation and will do our best to leave a country to our children, which we dream of,” he stressed. Pashinyan underlined he had declared a sit-down strike not as a representative of a political force, but as a citizen, whose rights are being violated.

Pashinyan took up position under the monument to famous Armenian writer Hovhannes Tumanyan in the Liberty Square. Currently about 50 posters have been stuck on the monuments with a “+1” inscription. This inscription symbolizes the “1+1+1+” formula created by Pashinyan, which supposes gradual unification of people to the idea of disobedience to the existing regime.

Leader of “Republic” party Aram Sargsyan, representatives of People’s Party of Armenia and ordinary citizens have already joined the action.

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