Polarized, divisive and pressured elections, inflammatory rhetoric

“The campaign was lively and largely peaceful, but highly polarized and divisive, with periodic use of inflammatory rhetoric, including by the leading candidate of the ruling party,” states the preliminary report of the international observation mission of the OSCE/ODIHR Armenian parliamentary elections, which was published a while ago.

The report said campaign rhetoric centered around messages of peace, relations with Azerbaijan, regional stability, the economy and the fight against corruption, with several foreign leaders making public statements and support in favor of the ruling party.

“Direct pressure from the Russian Federation, in the form of escalating trade restrictions and threats to the future economic stability and security of the country in connection with the election results, has been present throughout the campaign. The OSCE/ODIHR EOM (Election Observation Mission) did not record systematic misuse of administrative resources at the local level, but recorded and received numerous alerts, some of which it assessed as credible, related to the pressure exerted on voters to attend campaign events of the ruling party. This, recently introduced or initiated along with social and economic measures, gave an advantage to the ruling party and undermined the equality of campaign opportunities, contrary to OSCE commitments.

At the same time, several alarms pointed to the pressure exerted on voters by some businessmen in favor of opposition parties. There have been numerous allegations of voter bribery and other electoral violations that the authorities have proactively investigated. However, since these examinations mainly targeted candidates and supporters of the main opposition parties, it created an impression of electoral fairness and raised concerns about its impact on campaign opportunities and turnout,” the report said.

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