Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ANC Proxy – “It’s a staged election”
Ararat Davtyan

hetq.am
16:08, May 6, 2012

Armanoush Mirzoyan, president of the 2/07 polling station in Yerevan’s
Nork Nork district, has given a big `thumbs up’ to today’s
parliamentary election, describing the process as `ideal’.

In contrast, ANC proxy Rouzanna Karapetyan noted that the process was
evidently directed from above.

`They are bringing people in groups and telling them who to vote for.
Naturally the organizers are instructing people to vote for the ruling
Republican Party,’ said Karapetyan.

Knarik Zatikyan, a proxy for the Republican Party at the polling
station, denied the charges.

Large-scale irregularities reported during voting

arminfo
Sunday, May 6, 16:07

The Joint Inter-Party Headquarters of Prosperous Armenia, ARFD and
ANC to control over election process urges international observers and
authorities of Armenia to respond to large- scale irregularities
during voting, the press-service of the Headquarters told ArmInfo on
May 6.

The source alarms that the ink stamps in the passports of voters
disappear within few minutes, while they should have been visible
within 12 hours. The press-service reports that many voters are sure
that the given irregularities were planned beforehand.

Cases of violent treatment of the authorized persons and open voting
have been reported as well. The headquarters urges the citizens to be
active not avoid such irregularities.

Leader of Prosperous Armenia Party: It depends on result of
parliamentary elections whether Prosperous Armenia will support Serzh
Sargsyan or not

arminfo
Sunday, May 6, 17:24

It depends on the result of the parliamentary elections whether
Prosperous Armenia will support Serzh Sargsyan during presidential
election of 2013 or not, Leader of Prosperous Armenia Party Gagik
Tsarukyan told media after voting at the polling stations No. 28/28 in
the village of Arinj, Kotayk region, ArmInfo’s correspondent reported.

Tsarukyan said that he will be visiting electoral headquarters
throughout the day to settle problems if there are such. As for the
election result, Tsarukyan said that Prosperous Armenia Party will
keep working and will not disappear from the political field
irrespective of how many percent of votes it will receive. It depends
on the party that will receive majority of votes and the powers to
make changes in the country. “Changes, conditions and possibilities
are important now. To do that one must be aware of the situation and
has the right to change it. The people have been told that they are to
decide their future. Everyone must vote today to ensure free and
transparent elections,” he said.

PM agrees with ex-leader Kocharian Armenia needs changes

May 6, 2012 – 12:42 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Prime Minister expressed confidence that Armenia
needs changes.

`I agree with the 1st and 2nd presidents of independent Armenia in the
fact that the country needs changes. The team, which provided the
safety of the country and promoted two-fold economic growth during
Robert Kocharian’s presidency, has enough knowledge and experience to
bring about changes,’ Tigran Sargsyan stated commenting on ex-leader
Robert Kocharian’s criticism of current authorities.

The Prime Minister, accompanied by his family, cast his vote at
electoral district 10/8, choosing `Armenia’s bright future.’

Injury Update: No lives at risk, but dozens still receiving treatment
after balloon accident

News | 06.05.12 | 12:10

[image: Injury Update: No lives at risk, but dozens still receiving
treatment after balloon accident]

Photolure
About 80 of 154 citizens, who were injured from the explosions of
gas-filled balloons on Friday at the rally of ruling Republican Party of
Armenia (RPA) in Republic Square, remain at hospitals. Twenty five victims
are intensive care; there are people who will need plastic surgeries later.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) reports that there is no patient whose life is
at stake and that patients are being dismissed hourly.

On Friday, a few minutes after the accident, the rally continued, including
a speech by President Serzh Sargsyan. Soon after concluding his speech
Sargsyan visited some accident victims at Nairi Hospital and on Saturday
attended a prayer service. He was criticized severely, however, for not
stopping the rally, and for not mentioning anything about the blast in his
speech. In response to those accusations, an RPA representative said that
Sargsyan did not mention it so as to not create panic or a possible traffic
jam, so that all victims could be taken to hospitals from Republic Square
on time.

Some of the victims, mainly youngsters, suffered burns from melting rubber;
others suffered as a result of the crush caused by panic.

Police report that a criminal case has been launched against those who
prepared the balloons, for violating the rules of maintenance,
registration, transfer, delivery and usage of inflammable or caustic
materials, as well as the illegal transfer and delivery of such materials,
if they caused severe consequences due to careless treatment.

APA, Azerbaijan
May 5 2012

Ali Hasanov: `Unfortunately, neither the OSCE Minsk Group nor the
other international organizations take any measure on Armenians’
policy of artificial settlement’

[ 05 May 2012 13:19 ]
Baku. Kamala Guliyeva – APA. `A research was carried out with the
participation of the OSCE’s fact-finding mission and the UN, and it
was revealed that the Armenians continue the artificial settlement in
Azerbaijan’s occupied territories.

But unfortunately, neither the OSCE Minsk Group nor the other
international organizations made a statement on it and took any
measures’, said Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the State Committee
on Work of Refugees and IDPs Ali Hasanov commenting on the
construction of city by Armenians in occupied Khojavend reguon, APA
reports.

Hasanov said that these acts of Armenians weren’t new: `There are
continuously engaged in this work. Whatever they do, it will be
useless. They will see it when they release the occupied territories’.

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
May 5 2012

Fever of elections set to change facet of politics

May 6 is a bumper day for elections, with major polls being held in
France, Serbia, Greece and Armenia.

The polls in France and Greece are considered crucial for the future
of the eurozone, while the Serbian election is significant for the
country’s relationship with the European Union. The parliamentary
election in Armenia is seen by outside observers as key in the
democratic development of Turkey’s eastern neighbor.

Meanwhile, results continue to emerge in Britain’s local elections
held on May 3, as well as the second round of parliamentary elections
held in Iran on May 4.

New York Times
May 5 2012

Armenia: Rally Balloons Explode

Scores of people were hurt in Yerevan, the capital, on Friday when
gas-filled balloons exploded in a huge ball of flames at a campaign
rally for Armenia’s Republican Party ahead of parliamentary elections
on Sunday. More than 60 people, including children, were hospitalized
after the explosion, and photographs showed bystanders fleeing as
flames shot up in a crowded square. The Emergencies Ministry said 144
people had been injured; some were burned and others were hurt during
the panic after the explosion. No deaths were reported. Nikolai
Grigoryan, the deputy director of Armenia’s rescue service, told the
Novosti Armenia news agency that the balloons had been filled with
helium and were ignited by a bystander’s cigarette. However, helium is
an inert gas that does not burn.

The Moscow Times
May 5 2012

154 Injured in Balloon Explosion in Yerevan
05 May 2012

Gas-filled balloons exploded at a campaign rally in the Armenian
capital of Yerevan on Friday, injuring 154 people.

Armenian authorities are working to identify what gas was used to blow
up the balloons, RIA-Novosti reported, citing a statement by the
country’s emergency services ministry. The balloons were apparently
not filled with helium or regular air, both of which are commonly used
for the purpose and neither of which are explosive.

As a result of the explosion, 154 demonstrators standing near the
balloons at a rally of the Armenian Republican Party received burns
and were hospitalized. As of early Saturday, more than 70 people
remained in the hospital, Interfax reported.

The rally took place in a central square in Yerevan ahead of
parliamentary elections in Armenia scheduled for Sunday.

Armenian authorities are investigating whether the explosion was set
off by someone purposefully or was an accident, a police spokesman
told Interfax.

ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 4, 2012 Friday 01:34 AM GMT+4

Over 170 CIS observers to monitor elections in Armenia

YEREVAN May 4

A total of 173 CIS observers will monitor the parliamentary elections
that will be held in Yerevan on Sunday.

Armenian President Serzh Sargzyan expressed confidence that the work
of the CIS observer mission will be productive. “We have done all to
have high-quality elections in accordance with free and democratic
principles,” the president said when he received on Thursday the head
of the mission, first deputy chairman of the CIS Executive Committee
Vladimir Garkun, and the head of the mission’s headquarters Yevgeny
Sloboda.

This is necessary so that “the results of the elections inspire
confidence in our people as well as in our partners,” the presidential
press service quoted him as saying. “This is very important for us,”
the president said.

CIS officials gave high marks to activity of the Armenian Central
Election Commission. The electoral code of the country has undergone
major changes. A monitoring of the CIS mission of observers has shown
that the election campaign proceeds calmly, Garkun said, noting a
contribution of mass media to that. According to him, “equal
conditions have been ensured in media for all candidates,” while the
work of the central and regional election commissions has been “open
and transparent”.

“We are making every effort to make these elections qualitatively
different from previous ones,” Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisyan said at
talks with CIS mission officials. He noted that the presence of
observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States is a major
support for spreading objective information about the elections, the
government press service said.

The interlocutors also discussed the agenda of a session of the
Council of the CIS Heads of Government that will be held in Ashgabat
(Turkmenistan) on May 30.