Author: Babajanian Karo

ELECTION 2013: ARMENIAN PRESIDENT RE-ELECTED AMID ACCUSATIONS OF VOTING IRREGULARITIES

Global Insight
February 19, 2013

Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan was re-elected yesterday (18
February) with more than 58% of the vote, according to official
results released today (19 February). Former foreign minister Raffi
Hovannisian came second, with 36.8% of the vote. Voter turnout was
60%, defying fears of low voter engagement. The result was widely
anticipated, and was aided by a relatively fragmented opposition and
the withdrawal of some more popular candidates during the campaign
(seeArmenia: 15 February 2013:). Hovannisian was quick to denounce
the result, claiming widespread voting fraud. His spokesperson
Hovsep Khurshudian stated, “These were shameful elections with a
huge number of violations. The results of the exit poll do not show
reality but what the authorities wanted.” Election observers from the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) commented
that although the election was an improvement on previous ballots,
there was a lack of effective competition, and checks against repeat
voting were insufficient in some cases. Hovannisian’s supporters
stated they would protest against the result on Tuesday evening (19
February), although as yet there has been no repeat of the violence
following the 2008 presidential election, which left 10 people dead.

Significance:The election is an improvement on previous ballots, and
highlights the progress Armenia has made in recent years. This has been
driven in part by strong pressure from the EU, with which Sargsyan is
seeking to build closer relations. Despite his resounding victory,
Sargsyan’s second term is unlikely to be an easy one. He will face
increasingly politically active young professional voters pressing
for serious economic reforms, as well as calling for the removal of
oligarchic monopolies. Sargsyan has been very effective in recent
years in improving the tax collection system, but this has created a
new class of taxpaying active citizens who will demand accountability
and efficiency from the new government.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT RE-ELECTED BUT RIVAL DEFIANT

Agence France Presse
February 19, 2013 Tuesday 9:35 PM GMT

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian on Tuesday celebrated a crushing
victory in elections for a second five-year mandate, but his rival
refused to recognise the result and observers complained the polls
lacked competition.

Sarkisian, a shrewd former military officer in power since 2008, won
Monday’s polls in the small ex-Soviet state nestled in the Caucasus
mountains between Turkey and Iran with 58.64 percent of the votes.

His nearest rival, former foreign minister Raffi Hovannisian,
trailed in a distant second place with 36.75 percent of votes, the
central election commission said after counting results from all the
precincts. Voter turnout was 60 percent.

“These elections have again shown that the Armenian people can unite
and take the right decision at the most important moments,” Sarkisian
told supporters at his campaign headquarters.

“I am proud and hope that all who did not vote for me understand
the choice of the majority and we develop the country under a stable
situation,” he said.

But Hovannisian refused to recognise Sarkisian’s victory, saying
“the vote was not fair and the (official) results do not reflect
people’s will.”

Speaking to hundreds of supporters in Yerevan’s central Liberty Square,
the US-born Hovannisian, who formerly practised as a lawyer in Los
Angeles, insisted he was the true winner.

“I will not let the authorities steal the people’s victory,” he said,
adding that he might seek to overturn the official results in the
Constitutional Court.

Hovannisian’s camp alleged a range of sometimes bizarre electoral
violations, including the use of “disappearing ink” to allow multiple
voting.

“These were shameful elections with a huge number of violations,”
Hovannisian’s spokesman Hovsep Khurshudian told AFP.

However the pro-Hovannisian rally was peaceful and there was as
yet no repeat of the violent tensions that marked the vote which
brought Sarkisian to power in 2008 when 10 people died in clashes
with the police.

— ‘Competition is critical’ —

Observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly said the elections
were an improvement on past polls but lacked real competition after
two leading candidates pulled out late last year.

“This election showed improvement, but lacked genuine competition,”
said Tonino Picula, the head of the OSCE PA mission.

“Competition is critical if Armenia is going to live up to the
aspirations of its people for a vibrant and engaging democracy.”

The observers said the voting process was well organised but confirmed
the ink used to stamp passports at polling stations and prove that
voters had cast their ballots was not secure.

The ink “did not provide the intended safeguard against multiple
voting as the ink could easily be wiped off,” they said in a statement.

The authorities had been hoping for a peaceful and internationally
praised process that would improve the country’s chances of European
integration.

The United States voiced support for the OSCE’s conclusions, saying
that the election was “calm and orderly” but had some “serious
violations that obviously need to be investigated.”

“We support the conclusions… that the elections were generally well
administered and characterised by a respect for fundamental freedoms,
including those of assembly and expression,” State Department spokesman
Victoria Nuland said.

Among concerns, she pointed to the “lack of impartiality” by some
public officials and the “misuse of administrative resources” on
behalf of the ruling party.

Former prime minister Hrant Bagratian came in third with just over
two percent of the vote, while Soviet-era dissident Paruyr Hayrikyan
came in fourth.

The election was also clouded by a mysterious assassination attempt
against Hayrikyan last month that at one point risked derailing the
polls entirely. But the candidate in the end opted not to use his
right to ask for a delay.

The outcome was already clear in December when the highly popular
leader of the Prosperous Armenia party — super-rich former
arm-wrestling champion Gagik Tsarukian — said he was out of the race
and Armenia’s first post-Soviet president Levon Ter-Petrosian said
he was too old for the country’s top job.

The OSCE PA said the lack of other top candidates “seems to have
contributed to apathy and a lack of trust among voters” as campaigns
focused on personalities rather than political platforms.

Sarkisian now has a major task to fight poverty and unemployment with
the World Bank estimating that 36 percent of Armenians live below the
poverty line. Economic hardship has driven nearly a million Armenians
out of the country over the past two decades.

Meanwhile no final peace deal has yet been reached with Azerbaijan
over the Armenian-controlled Azerbaijani region of Nagorny Karabakh
as the risk of a new conflict remains palpable.

Sarkisian, 59, is a veteran of the 1990s war with Azerbaijan over
Nagorny Karabakh and derives much of his popularity from a tough
can-do militaristic image.

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HEAD OF ARMENIAN STATE REVENUE COMMITTEE: NO CUSTOMS INTRIGUES ARE MADE AGAINST CARREFOUR

ARMINFO
Wednesday, February 20, 21:47

Carrefour, the French chain of hypermarkets, has no tax or customs
problems to enter the Armenian market, Gagik Khachatryan, Chairman
of the State Revenue Committee under the Government of Armenia,
told journalists on Feb 20.

He said that he is ready to discuss any problems emerging at the
customs house when importing some goods. He pointed out that the
problems of Carrefour concern other spheres having nothing to do with
the customs system. He thinks that Carrefour will enter the Armenian
market, as the Government has a positive attitude to that issue.

Khachatryan added that Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan also
said that.

When asked about oligarch Samvel Alexanyan’s possible attempts to
hinder Carrefour’s entry into the Armenian retail market, Khachatryan
said that the issue of the French retailer’s presence in Armenia is
being discussed at the relevant structures.

To note, according to the reliable sources of ArmInfo, the Carrefour
hypermarket in Yerevan was to work on the basis of a franchise owned
by a large U.A.E. developer Majid Al Futtaim Holding (MAF). “We
are already working in 13 countries of the world. We have recently
included several CIS countries in our portfolio, among them Kazakhstan,
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia”, MAF Chief Executive Officer said to
Russkiye Emiraty. The company has already opened its first Carrefour
supermarket in Georgia and is going to open a store in Azerbaijan. To
recall, at present MAF has already 45 supermarkets.

To note, by the number of its stores (over 15 thsd) Carrefour Group
(France) holds the first position in Europe and the second position in
the world. Carrefour hypermarkets’ assortment includes up to 80,000
food and non-food items. The total staff consists of over 400 thsd
people. Nothing has been said about the investments in the opening of
the hypermarket in Yerevan, however, experts estimated the investments
at 6-8 mln USD.

By ArmInfo’s data, Majid Al Futtaim Holding (U.A.E.), the Carrefour
franchise holder, started to consider its possible entry into Armenian
market a couple of years ago. Observers think that the opening of
Carrefour in Armenia could have had a strong impact on the competitive
environment in the sphere of organized retail trade, which is actually
divided into 2 large networks owned by oligarch parliamentarians.

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PRAGUE RENOUNCES ANTI-ARMENIAN RESOLUTION PREPARED BY FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE OF CZECH PARLIAMENT

ARMINFO
Wednesday, February 20, 21:45

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not involved in the preparation
of the resolution, which was prepared by Foreign Relations Committee
of the Czech Parliament.

“The official position of the Czech Republic towards the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict has not changed. The Czech Republic supports the
efforts of the international community and especially of the co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group to find a peaceful solution to the conflict
and pursues the policy of friendly and mutually advantageous relations
with both Armenia and Azerbaijan”, says the statement of the Czech
Foreign Ministry.

“The Ministry has been unpleasantly surprised that the information on
the adoption of said resolution was posted on the official website
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan before its content
was made public by the above-mentioned Foreign Committee itself”,
says the statement.

To note, the Foreign Relations Committee of the Czech Parliament
prepared a resolution on recognition of the so-called “Khojalu
massacre”. The document expresses condolence to Azerbaijani people and
condemns “the ethnic cleansing of peaceful population”. The document
also supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,
including Nagorno-karabakh.

AZERBAIJANI DEFENCE MINISTER ACCUSED IN NOT IMPLEMENTING COURT DECISIONS

20:30, 20 February, 2013

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 20, ARMENPRESS: Head of Azerbaijani Reserve Officers
Association Yashar Jafarli accused Defence Minister Safar Abiyev in
not implementing court decisions. Among these judgments, according
to Jafarli, there are those that were taken 11 or 12 years ago,
reports Armenpress, citing contact.az.

For example, there are 13 court decisions relating to payment of
compensation for unused military leave. Among the decisions of
the court there are those that relate to three times the salary
for soldiers serving in the war zone, and allocation of retirement
pensions.

Despite numerous appeals in this connection to the Ministry of Justice
and the Office of the Execution of Judgments, any positive result
has not been achieved.

“This is not a legal issue already. Defence Minister Safar Abiyev
shows disrespect for law and decisions made on behalf of the state,
placing himself above the law,” said Yashar Jafarli.

Reserve Officers Association believes that this issue should be tabled
in the public, which must also hold protests.

It is noteworthy that not providing court decisions regarding the
restoration of the rights of the officers, the bailiffs very quickly
record and confiscate the property of youth activists and their
families in administrative matters.

COMPETING CLAIMS TO ARMENIA’S PRESIDENCY

EurasiaNet.org, NY
Feb 19 2013

February 19, 2013 – 7:05am, by Giorgi Lomsadze

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan says he won a second term — his
rival (Sargsyan told RFE/RL he prefers the word “competitor”) says,
no, he did not. And with that, Armenia’s stage is once again set for
a potentially protracted political fray.

Cinching a reelection was expected to be a cakewalk for Sargsyan, who
faced scattered opposition during the campaign. One rival was shot
in an alleged assassination attempt, another bailed out, accusing
the authorities of vote-rigging, and still another tried to starve
himself into true democracy.

The rest of Armenia doesn’t seem to care about the presidential office
too much. Eighty percent of 1,080 Armenians questioned for a recent
survey by local pollster Sociometer don’t want to be presidents of
their country.

The only other Armenian who wants to be president and put up a real
fight for it is Raffi Hovannisian, the Fresno, California-born leader
of the tiny opposition Heritage Party. Hovannisian claims that Sargsyan
stole the victory from him through widespread funny business, ranging
from bribery to ballot-box stuffing.

Speaking to reporters on election day, Hovannisian declared that
“The people have won,” which is a politician’s euphemism for “I have
won.”But not according to the preliminary official vote count, which
put Sargsyan in the lead with just under 60 percent, while Hovannisian
lags more than 22 percentage points behind.

Fraud, declared Hovannisian, who won 70 percent of the vote in
Armenia’s second-largest city of Gyumri, according to early data. His
supporters said they will make public the alleged evidence to support
his claim to the presidency.

For their part, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights’ observers
have declared that the poll respected “fundamental freedoms,” though
cast a disapproving eye at the alleged abuse of government resources
by Sargsyan’s ruling Republican Party of Armenia.

In the meantime, in that time-honored tradition, they’re staging a
protest in Yerevan’s Liberty Square late this afternoon.

But Hovannisian’s chances to challenge the outcome of the vote do
not look very good. Pre-election opinion polls put him far behind
the incumbent, and the helter-skelter opposition to the ruling
establishment is believed to have led to voter apathy.

“Sargsyan wins not because people trust him, but because people don’t
trust the others,” Alexander Iskandarian, the director of Yerevan’s
Caucasus Institute think-tank, commented to the Kavkazsky Uzel news
site .

But that does not mean that Hovannisian can’t kick up a storm. Local
media reports that he might launch a round-the-clock series of
street protests and legally challenge the official results, precinct
by precinct.

NEWSPAPER: SERZH SARGSYAN DECIDES TO FIND OUT WHY HE LOST THE ELECTION TO RAFFI HOVANNISIAN IN SOME BIG TOWNS IN ARMENIA

ARMINFO
Wednesday, February 20, 11:10

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan who has been elected for a second
term on February 18 has decided to find out why he lost the election
to Raffi Hovannisian, Leader of Heritage Party, in some big towns in
Armenia and at some polling stations in Yerevan.

A Yerevan-based Hraparak newspaper reports that Sargsyan was surprised
at such voting outcome, as he had been informed of quite different
situation before the voting.

By data of the CEC, Raffi Hovannisian gained victory in the following
towns: Ashtarak, Armavir, Nor Hachn, Abovyan, Vanadzor, Spitak,
Gyumri, Akhuryan, Artik, Kapan, Eghegnadzor, Noyemberyan, and Ijevan.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT THANKS VOTERS FOR RE-ELECTION

Global Times, China
Feb 19 2013

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Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on Tuesday thanked voters’ trust
and confidence placed in him in Monday’s presidential election to
secure him a second term.

In a televised speech, he promised the public that his government
would strive for economic development in the country and his ruling
Republican Party of Armenia would cooperate with other political
parties to achieve that goal.

Preliminary tally released by the Armenian Central Electoral Commission
(CEC) showed that Sargsyan obtained 58.64 percent of the total votes.

The CEC’s latest tally also showed that 1,518,407 of the 2,528,463
registered voters cast their votes on Monday, with a turnout rate of
60.05 percent.

Sargsyan was followed by former Armenian Foreign Minister Raffi
Hovannisian, who leads the opposition Heritage Party, with 36.75
percent of the vote.

The CEC has finalized counting votes from all the 1,988 ballot stations
across the country early Tuesday.

Sargsyan was first elected president in 2008.

The Armenian constitution limits a president’s service to two
consecutive five-year terms.

USA SHARES THE VIEWPOINT OF OSCE/ODIHR CONCERNING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS OF ARMENIA

22:12, 19 February, 2013

WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY 19, ARMENPRESS: USA shares the viewpoint of
OSCE/ ODIHR observation mission concerning presidential elections in
Armenia. It was recorded in Washington that presidential elections in
Armenia were peaceful and that incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan was
re-elected, getting 58,64 percent of votes. As reports Armenpress,
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters at her
daily briefing.

“We support preliminary conclusion of OSCE/ODIHR observation
mission noting that 18 February presidential election was
generally well-administered and was characterized by a respect for
fundamental freedoms. Contestants were able to campaign freely. Media
fulfilled their legal obligation to provide balanced coverage,
and all contestants made use of their free airtime. At the same
time, lack of impartiality of the public administration, misuse of
administrative resources, and cases of pressure on voters were of
concern. While election day was calm and orderly, it was marked by
undue interference in the process, mainly by proxies representing the
incumbent, and some serious violations which need to be observed,”
Victoria Nuland highlighted.

In accordance with the preliminary results Serzh Sargsyan has been
re-elected. He has received 861 160 votes, 58.64 percent of the valid
votes. “Heritage” party leader Raffi Hovhannisyan has received 539
672 votes (36,75 percent), the third comes Hrant Bagratyan with 31
643 votes (2,15 percent), 18 093 citizens (1.23 percent ) have cast
their votes for Presidential candidate Paruyr Hayrikyan, subjected
to an assassination attempt.

JAROMIR STETINA SUGGESTS DENOUNCING RESOLUTION ON KHOJALU PRESENTED BY CZECH MP

20:36 19/02/2013 >> REGION

Czech senator sent a letter to current Speaker of the Chamber of
Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Miroslava Nìmcova.

Member of Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security Jaromír
©tìtina in the letter that is addressed to Speaker of Parliament
Miroslava Nìmcova has expressed his concern about the resolution
admitted by the this commission on February 7 connected with Khojalu
events.

Armenian European magazine “Days” reports that ©tìtina stresses that
this resolution has been accepted a few days later of the meeting
of the chairman of commission David Vodrazka with the Azerbaijani
ambassador to Czech Republic Tahir Tanghizade. The document says that
613 peaceful inhabitants have been violently killed by the Armenian
military units in KHojalu.

“This statement does not correspond to reality, and I think that
the Azerbaijani ambassador is misleading the Committee on Foreign
Relations. I was working in Nagorno Karabakh as a foreign correspondent
by the time when the Armenian troops seized Khojalu and I was quite
familiar to the whole situation. The Armenian troops occupied Khojalu
and the airport of Stepanakert that was close to that place. Before
they would attack they announced that they leave a corridor for the
civilians which would lead them to Azerbaijani city of Aghdam. Most of
the inhabitants of Khojalu have used that corridor, some of them have
been seized and moved to Stepanakert and kept in one of the schools
there, I have met them for several times there (most of them were not
Azerbaijanis but Turks from Mskheti,) they have been set free later
on. The violent mass killings of several dozens of civilians have been
committed on their way to Aghdam, on Azerbaijani territory, which was
controlled by Azerbaijani troops and militarized forces. According to
Armenian version and according to my information that I was receiving
by that time it is more possible that the Turks of Mskheti have been
cruelly killed by the Azerbaijani non-governmental special troops.

This has taken place before resignation of Azerbaijani president
Mutalibov, who stated that these mass killings aimed at driving him
from power by accusing him in being unable to secure the safety of
his own people,” ©tìtina says in his letter.

According to the source the senator stressed at the end of the letter
addressed to the speaker of the Parliament that the resolution of the
Defence and Security committee does not correspond to balanced and
correct relations of Czech Republic with South Caucasus and promotes
the growth of tension in the region.

“As far as this resolution is based on one-sided and false information
provided by one of the conflicting sides, and as the other side has had
no chance to get acquainted with the document I offer the Committee
on Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Speaker, to invalidate the resolution,”
Jaromír ©tìtina says in the letter addressed to Parliament Speaker
Miroslava Nìmcova.

On February 7 the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security
of Czech Republic held a voting, almost secretly, not informing those
members of the committee who could vote against the resolution and
present the viewpoints of the Armenian side too.

The document is not yet in force as the chairman of the committee
Vodrazka has not signed it yet.

Source: Panorama.am