Author: Badalian Vardan

ARMENIANS VOTE IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION MARRED BY SHOOTING

Financial Mirror
Feb 18 2013

Armenians voted in a presidential election on Monday that is likely
to hand incumbent Serzh Sarksyan a new five-year term, but the lack
of any serious opposition and an assassination attempt on one of his
rivals cast a shadow over the election.

Opinion polls suggest Sarksyan’s victory is all but certain. He is on
target to win more than 60% of the votes in the small, landlocked
country in the South Caucasus, with the next of the other six
candidates barely in double figures.

Sarksyan’s supporters hope an election free of the violence and fraud
that marred the last presidential poll in 2008, when ten people were
killed in clashes, would show the world the former Soviet republic
is on the path to economic recovery after years of war and upheaval.

Political stability was a concern among a steady trickle of voters
who headed to a polling station at a children’s daycare centre in
the capital, Yerevan.

But with none of Sarksyan serious rivals in the opposition choosing
to stand in the race, election observers expressed concerns over the
democratic credentials of the vote.

Officials from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
said they found apathy towards the election and a lack of confidence
about the electoral process among the public when they visited the
country in January.

There are also questions about security in a country that is locked
in a dispute with neighbouring Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh,
an ethnic Armenian-majority enclave inside Azerbaijan over which
Armenians and Azeris fought a war in the 1990s. Sarksyan, 59, like
many of his generation, is a veteran of that war.

Tensions over the mountainous enclave still pose a threat to peace
in a region where pipelines take Caspian oil and natural gas to Europe.

Concerns about instability were underlined in an attempt to kill
Paruyr Hayrikyan, 63, an outsider in the election. He was shot in
the shoulder on January 31.

Another outsider in the race, Andrias Ghukasyan, has been on a hunger
strike since the start of the campaign to press demands for Sarksyan’s
candidacy to be annulled and for international observers to boycott
the vote.

A third candidate, Arman Melikyan, has said he will not vote on Monday
because he believes the election will be slanted in the president’s
favour. Other potential candidates did not take part in the race for
similar reasons.

International observers from the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are monitoring polls, which opened at
8 a.m. (0400 GMT) and close at 8 p.m. (1600 GMT).

The first exit polls are expected a few hours after polls close and
official results on Tuesday at 8 p.m.

VOTED FOR ARMENIAN MUSICIAN ARTO TUNJOBOYAJYAN

On February 18, more than three percent of the participants in the
presidential elections made their ballots invalid.

According to the preliminary data from CEC, 50992 ballots were
considered invalid. 1 521 931 voters participated in the elections.

Every citizen knows who to vote. That is his choice and right. And
here’s a citizen who voted in favor of a famous Armenian musician Arto
Tunjoboyajyan. Moreover, she is a representative of the female gender,
since she stamped a lipstick kiss on the ballot.

This has become known as she had photographed and had sent her ballot.

By the way,the voted ballot is prohibited to photograph.

It should be noted that she wasn’t the only voter for Arto. As a fact,
the following photos:

OSCE/ODIHR OBSERVERS’ REPORT

06:39 PM | TODAY | POLITICS

YEREVAN, 19 February 2013 – Armenia’s presidential election was
generally well-administered and was characterized by a respect for
fundamental freedoms, including those of assembly and expression,
concluded the international election observation mission in a
statement released today. At the same time, the statement said, a
lack of impartiality on the part of the public administration and the
misuse of administrative resources resulted in a blurred distinction
between the activities of the state and those of the ruling party.

Candidate registration was inclusive, contestants had the chance
to campaign freely and voters had the opportunity to express their
choice. Media fulfilled their legal obligation to provide balanced
coverage and all contestants made use of their free airtime, the
statement said.

Among the concerns over misuse of administrative resources identified
in the statement was the participation, while on leave, of a large
number of public and civil servants in the campaign of the incumbent.

“There have been clear improvements in the electoral process since
the previous presidential elections, and we have noted progress in
many areas, including the media environment and the legal framework,”
said Karin Woldseth, the Head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE) delegation. “At the same time, our joint
findings note several important areas where marked improvement is
needed to ensure full public trust in the electoral process.”

The electoral framework is comprehensive and conducive overall to the
conduct of democratic elections, and election commissions administered
the process in a professional manner, the statement said. It also
noted that, while several candidates alleged that voter lists were
inflated and raised concerns about possible impersonation of out-of
country voters, no evidence of this had been provided prior to Election
Day. The mission assessed positively the efforts that had been made
to improve the accuracy of voter lists, although further work in this
area remains to be done.

“We have observed a calm election day, characterized by no major
difficulties in electoral procedures, following a somewhat quiet,
low-key election campaign lacking significant political debate and
real competition,” said Milan Cabrnoch, the Head of the European
Parliament delegation. “This was mainly due to the decision by three
main parties not to nominate candidates.”

The campaign remained peaceful, although one candidate was shot and
injured early in the campaign under circumstances that are under
investigation, the statement said. 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,
including cases of pressure on voters, were observed.

“Having been in the country for six weeks, we can say that candidates
were able to campaign freely and fundamental freedoms were respected.

Overall, the election was administered in a professional manner and
real efforts were made by the authorities to improve the quality of
the voter lists. The media covered all candidates in a rather balanced
manner, but that coverage would have benefitted from more critical
analysis and debates between candidates,” said Ambassador Heidi
Tagliavini, the Head of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) long-term election observation mission.

“Unfortunately, the blurring of the distinction between the State and
the ruling party continues to be an issue. This was demonstrated in
the misuse of administrative resources, pressure on voters, and a
lack of impartiality on the part of the public administration.”

INCUMBENT ARMENIAN PRESIDENT MAJOR RIVAL LEADS MARCH

TERT.AM
19.02.13

A rally and a meeting with journalists Raffi Hovannisian, major
rival to incumbent Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan in the Feb. 18
presidential election, held in Freedom Square, was followed by a
march along Mashtots Avenue.

The participants demand that Mr Hovannisian start a round-the-clock
sit-in “against rigged elections.”

The participants are crying out “Raffi is president!” and “Serzh,
go away!” and marching toward the Institute of Ancient Manuscripts
Matenadaran.

THE REPORT OF OSCE/ODIHR, PACE AND EP ON THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS OF ARMENIA

18:39, February 19, 2013

INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVATIONMISSION

Republic of Armenia – Presidential Election, 18 February 2013

STATEMENT OF PRELIMINARY FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

Yerevan, 19 February 2013 – This Statement of Preliminary Findings and
Conclusions is the result of a common endeavour involving the OSCE
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR),
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the
European Parliament (EP).

Karin Woldseth (Norway) headed the PACE delegation, and Milan Cabrnoch
(Czech Republic) headed the EP delegation. Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini
(Switzerland) is the Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation
Mission, deployed from 10 January 2013.

The assessment was made to determine whether the election complied
with OSCE commitments and Council of Europe standards, as well as
with domestic legislation. This statement of preliminary findings
and conclusions is delivered prior to the completion of the electoral
process. The final assessment of the election will depend, in part,
on the conduct of the remaining stages of the election process, in
particular the tabulation of results and the handling of possible
post-election day complaints and appeals.

The OSCE/ODIHR will issue a comprehensive final report, including
recommendations for potential improvements, some eight weeks after
the completion of the election process. The PACE will present its
report at its April part-session, in Strasbourg. The EP will present
its report to the Foreign Affairs Committee at its upcoming meeting.

To read the whole report click here.

RAFFI HOVANNISIAN PUT DEADLINE

06:08 PM | TODAY | POLITICS

Tomorrow, at 5 p.m. Raffi Hovannisian will hold national mass meeting
at “Azatutyun” square.

And before that, he suggested Serzh Sarkisyan having a public or
private meeting and together to give the power to the people of
Armenia.

He called on Serzh Sarkisyan to admit the nation’s victory and only
therefore he will shake Serkisyan’s hand.

He announced: “Let everybody repent their sins till 5 p.m. tomorrow”.

REPRESENTATIVES OF ARMENIAN OPPOSITION DON’T BELIEVE IN THE POLL DATA OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

2013-02-19 17:26:39

The representatives of campaign headquarters of presidential candidate
Raffi Ovannisyan don’t believe in the results of exit poll, according
to which incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan scored 58% of the votes,
Interfax reports.

“I absolutely don’t believe in these data”, said representative of
Ovannisyan headquarters, Armen Martirosyan to the journalists.

According to exit poll data, held by The Gallup Organization,
the head of opposition party “Heritage”, former Foreign Minister,
Raffi Ovannisyan scored 32% of the votes. Other candidated have not
commented the situation yet.

The sixth Armenian presidential election was being Feb 18, from 08:00
to 20:00 local time. The head of state is elected for five years.

Those running for the presidency are the incumbent president and ruling
Republican Party leader Serzh Sargsyan, former Prime Minister Grant
Bagratyan, chairman of the Heritage Party Raffi Hovhannisyan, Paruyr
Hayrikyan, Arman Melikyan, Andrias Ghukasyan and Vardan Setrakyan.

Woman complains about strangers registered at her home

18:27 – 18.02.13

In Yerevan’s Malatya community, a woman named Anahit Geghamyan arrived
at the local polling station and complained that only three people are
officially registered at her address, whereas seven names were on the
voters list.

She demanded explanations from the local election commission.
Commission Chairman Emil Karapetyan told the woman to visit the
passport department and find out.

As of 5:00pm, 860 of the 1,730 voters registered in the election
district performed their civic duty.

Only Armenian incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan’s proxy was
registered in the election district.

Armenia’s police denies there are additional electoral lists and says
all inaccuracies removed

YEREVAN, February 18. /ARKA/. All voters in Armenia are included in
the electoral register and personal information about each constituent
is entered into the register just once, Hovhannes Kocharyan, who is in
charge of Police visa and passport department, assured today.

A post was made on presidential candidate Raffi Hovannisian’s Facebook
page today that the campaign headquarter of the incumbent president
and candidate Serzh Sargsyan uses additional electoral lists at the
capital’s polling stations.

The post specifically signals the names of the voters appearing in the
additional lists are not excluded fr om the general electoral sheet
which lists their residence addresses, thus `a legal framework is
built for the second-time voting.’

According to Kocharyan, as of February 17, the number of citizens
listed in the register accounted to 2 million 505 thousand 980.

`Also, the names of 14, 285 voters entered into the general register
are temporarily removed fr om the sheet that lists their residence
addresses and included into the additional lists of those polling
stations wh ere they went to vote,’ he said.

Moreover, Kocharyan said 502 voters, who had no residence registration
in Armenia, are included into an additional electoral sheet of a
nearby polling station.

`Besides, 1,719 names of policemen are also removed from the sheet
listing their residence address and listed in the sheet of the polling
station wh ere they are appointed to monitor the elections. Another
1,628 people who are currently undergoing a treatment in medical
facilities are listed in the electoral sheets of those medical
facilities,’ he added.

Kocharyan informed his office reviewed 4,018 signals on inaccuracies
in polling stations from January 9 to February 13, and of them 1,928
were received during the Police investigation, 2,090 – from other
parties of the polling process.

`Total of 19 amendments were enacted to remove those inaccuracies in
the lists. Names of 2,028 dead citizens were also removed from the
lists,’ he highlighted.

Azeri expert comments on strain in Baku-Moscow relations

February 18, 2013 – 17:34 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – An Azeri political analyst cited several reasons
behind strain in Baku-Moscow relations.
`Russia intends to gain control over Azerbaijan which shows
independence both in political and economic issues. Russia wasn’t
happy about Azeri support of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s
leadership,’ Arastun Orujlu said.
`NATO’s expansion closer to Russia’s borders is another reason,’
SalamNews quoted the expert as saying.