FREEDOM HOUSE IS RIGID WITH ARMENIA
Lragir.am
9 Aug 06
All the elections held in independent Armenia were marred by cases of
ballot stuffing and electoral fraud. Radio Liberty informed that this
is mentioned in the report of Freedom House on democratization in 30
countries going through transition, which was published on August 3.
It is stated in the report of Freedom House that the OSCE and CoE
observers reported serious violations during the recent presidential
and parliamentary elections. They reported that the elections did not
comply with international standards, and their report supports the
statements of the opposition about electoral fraud, runs the report.
The experts of Freedom House state that Robert Kocharyan twice won
elections with serious electoral fraud.
The international community assessed the efforts of the president
administration in the sphere of human rights as very poor. The
situation became worse in 2004 when the opposition underwent
unprecedented pressure, including arrests and even violence, runs
the report of Freedom House. The authors of the report of Freedom
House also mention the constitutional referendum on November 25,
2005 which upheld the culture of electoral fraud in the country. The
experts of Freedom House remind that the CoE observers highly doubted
the official results of the referendum.
At the same time, Freedom House mentions that democratization in
Armenia is hindered by the system of government which grants vast
powers to the president. It is emphasized in the report that despite
the changes to the constitution the president of Armenia remains the
most powerful government official. The authors of the report also dwell
on the freedom of speech, mentioning that the media in Armenia work
in an unfavorable environment. The authors of the report of Freedom
House say the government keeps the public and private TV channels,
which belong to businessmen who are loyal to the government, under
rigid control.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
