08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

According to international observers, presidential and parliamentary elections in 2003 below international standards ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46111],  [ID 17109]

"International observers found the 2003 presidential and parliamentary elections to be well below international standards. There were serious irregularities, including ballot box stuffing, discrepancies in vote counts, partisan election commissions, and wide use of public resources to support the incumbent president. Domestic observers noted similar irregularities in local elections in September and October."

Document(s): Open document

08.2005 - Source: Freedom House

Presidential an parliamentary elections in 2003 strongly critisised by international observers ("Freedom in the World 2005") [#41286],  [ID 2843]

"The most recent presidential and parliamentary polls, in February-March and May 2003, respectively, were strongly criticized by international election monitors, who cited widespread fraud, particularly in the presidential vote. The 1995 constitution provides for a weak legislature and a strong, directly elected president who appoints the prime minister. Most parties in Armenia are dominated by government officials or other powerful figures, suffer from internal dissent and division, and tend to be weak and ineffective. President Robert Kocharian, whose term expires in 2008, does not belong to any political party and relies on a three-party coalition to rule the country"

Document(s): Open document

28.02.2005 - Source: US Department of State

2003 presidential and parliamentary elections found well beyond international standards: serious irregularities, harassment of opposition supporters by authorities; elections have been fought at Constitutional Court without significant success ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2004") [#29491],  [ID 2844]

"International observers found both the 2003 presidential and parliamentary elections to be well below international standards. There were serious irregularities, including ballot box stuffing, discrepancies in vote counts, partisan election commissions, and wide use of public resources to support the incumbent president.

Authorities harassed opposition supporters, including arrests. Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of punitive job dismissals. In Yerevan, more than 200 persons were detained between the 2 rounds of the presidential election in February and March 2003 for participating in unsanctioned campaign rallies.

Opposition candidates filed several legal complaints with the Constitutional Court challenging the results of the presidential election. In March 2003, the high court said it had identified irregularities and criticized the Government's handling of the electoral process; however, it ruled that there was no constitutional basis to change the outcome of the election."

Document(s): Open document

16.09.2003 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Observers reported numerous instances of “serious fraud” and concluded that the vote fell short of democratic standards ("Background information; situation of ethnic minorities; groups possibly at risk: religious minorities, members of opposition, homosexuals, deserters") [#47207],  [ID 2845]

"45. The 25 May 2003 parliamentary elections took place in accordance with the constitutional requirement to hold such elections every four years. The National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia consists of 131 deputies: 75 seats are allocated on a proportional basis to parties or blocs that gain more than 5% of the votes cast in a single national constituency; 56 deputies are elected from single-member constituencies through a one round majority system. Because of changes to the Electoral Code in July 2002, this composition was expected to be an exact reversal of the current parliament, which has a 75 member majority and 56 proportional seats.
46. While electoral legislation in Armenia provides a basis for the conduct of elections in compliance with international standards, it contains a number of ambiguous provisions that have the potential for inconsistent or contradictory interpretation or implementation. The Chairman of the CEC has acknowledged to the EOM of the OSCE that the Electoral Code needs to be improved. Two recent decisions by the Constitutional Court relating to disputes from the presidential election have contributed towards clarifying some of the ambiguous provisions. The Court strongly criticised the current application of procedures for resolving electoral disputes.
47. The parliamentary elections and referendum are administered by a three-tier election administration – the CEC, 56 Territorial Election Commissions (TECs) and approximately 1,877 Precinct Election Commissions (PECs). TECs are directly responsible for the administration of the constituency elections under the supervision of the CEC. All commissions consist of nine members: three appointed by the President and one from each of the six parliamentary factions as established following the 1999 election.
48. According to the final vote results announced by the Central Election Commission (CEC), the Armenian Republican Party (HHK) led by Prime Minister Andranik Markarian and Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisian won 23.7 percent of the vote or 23 seats in the 131-member parliament under the proportional representation system. The Republicans also won more than a dozen seats in individual first-past-the-post races and will enjoy the backing of over 20 deputies not affiliated with any party.
49. The official figures, which are virtually identical with the CEC’s preliminary tally, put the opposition Artarutyun (Justice) bloc in second place with 13.8 percent of the party-list vote or 14 parliament seats. It won only three additional mandates in the single seat constituencies.
50. Artarutyun was followed by two major parties supporting President Robert Kocharian: Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). They got about 12.5 percent and 11.5 percent respectively. Orinats Yerkir will boast the second largest parliament faction, 18 seats, thanks to its strong showing in the “majority” constituencies. The Dashnaktsutyun faction will have only 11 deputies – a major setback for the nationalist party, which hoped to substantially boost its political influence.
51. Another opposition party, Artashes Geghamian’s National Unity, placed fifth with almost 9 percent giving it 9 parliament seats. Only one other group, the United Labour Party of pro-Kocharian businessman Gurgen Arsenian, passed the 5 per cent vote threshold for entering the National Assembly. The party was little known before the elections. Several other pro-Kocharian parties failed to pass the threshold, the CEC said. 52. The final CEC tally was rejected as fraudulent by Artarutyun hours before its publication. The bloc, which claims to have won the election by a large margin, demanded that the CEC invalidate the figures.
53. The credibility of the results was also challenged by several pro-establishment parties. The CEC’s deputy chairman, Hamlet Abrahamian of Dashnaktsutyun, declined to vote for the body’s party-list protocol. Another CEC member representing Orinats Yerkir endorsed it, but claimed that his party was robbed of 80,000 votes that would have given it an extra seven seats. Some of the other pro-presidential parties that failed to win any seats have also made fraud allegations.
54. The leadership of Artarutyun, meanwhile, appears divided over whether or not it should boycott sessions of the new parliament in protest against the reported irregularities that led Western observers to conclude that the elections were not democratic. Bazeyan said his Hanrapetutyun (Republic) party stands for the boycott. However, several other opposition leaders have argued that Artarutyun should use the parliament in its fight against the ruling regime.
55. In a related move, the CEC confirmed the defeat of Kocharian’s draft amendments to Armenia’s constitution at a referendum also held on 25 May 2003. It said that only 46 percent of some 1.22 million Armenians who took part in the referendum voted for the proposed changes. The backing of at least 780,000 voters was needed to pass.
56. About 200 U.S. and European observers who closely followed the elections reported numerous instances of “serious fraud” in the counting of ballots and concluded that the vote fell short of democratic standards. The Armenian authorities admit vote irregularities but insist that thus were not significant enough to affect the outcome of the parliamentary race.
57. After losing a court battle in the Constitutional Court on 7 July 2003, Armenia's main opposition alliance in the newly elected parliament wants to continue its fight in the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights. The Artarutiun (Justice) parliamentary bloc announced that they have started paperwork for presenting the case to the European Court of Human Rights."

Document(s): Open document

31.07.2003 - Source: Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Report on parliamentary elections (election administration, campaign, media, complaints and results) ("Republic of Armenia: Parliamentary elections") [#14818],  [ID 2846]

Document(s): Open document

18.06.2003 - Source: Legislation Online

Constitutional Court Rules on Repeat Election ("OSCE/ODHIR: Country profile Armenia, 2003") [ID 2847]

"On 16 June, the Armenian Constitutional Court ordered a repeat election of the 25 May parliamentary ballot in a constituency in the northwestern region of Shirak (RFE/RL)."

Document(s): OSCE/ODHIR: Country profile Armenia, 2003

30.05.2003 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Republican Party won parliamentary elections while a referendum amending the constitution has been turned down ("Armenia’s Voter Fatigue") [#13348],  [ID 2848]

Document(s): Open document

26.05.2003 - Source: BBC News

Town of Shaumian: 1 person killed and 2 injured in an attack connected to the parliamentary elections ("Observers condemn Armenian poll") [#13120],  [ID 2849]

Document(s): Open document

06.02.2003 - Source:

www.electionworld.org: Election results ("www.electionworld.org - Armenia") [ID 2850]

"Executive:
President: Robert Sedraki K'och'aryan (1998)
Prime minister: Andranik Markaryan (2000) HHK
The president is elected for a four year term by the people (absolute majority with 2nd round if necessary). The president appoints and dismisses the prime minister Government is formed by HHK and HZhK, the Kayunutyun (Stability) group, two minority factions and non-partisans.

President: 19 february and 5 march 2003 (61.2 %) % %

Robert Kocharyan 48.3 67.5
Stepan Demirchyan (Hayastani Zhoghovrdakan Kusaktsutyun) 27.4 32.5
Artashes Geghamyan (National Unity) 16.9 -
Aram Karapetian (Constitutional Rights Union) 2.8

Source: Central Electoral Commission and Rulers

Parliament:
The Azgayin Zhoghov (National Assembly) has 131 members, elected for a four year term, 56 members in single-seat constituencies and 75 by proportional representation. The seats envisaged for the National Assembly by proportional representation are distributed among those party lists, which have received at least 5 % of the total of the number of the votes.

Azgayin Zhoghov: 25 may 2003 (51.5 %) % 131

Hayastani Hanrapetakan Kusaktsutyun (Republican Party of Armenia) HHK 23.5 31
Ardartyun (Justice) A 13.6 14
Orinants Erkir (Rule of Law Country, centrist) OE 12.3 19
Hai Heghapokhakan Dashnaktsutyun (Armenian Revolutionary Federation, social-democratic) Dashnak 11.4 11
National Unity NU 8.8 9
United Labour Party HZhAM 5.7 6
Liberal Democratic Union of Armenia HZhAM 4.6 -
Hzor Hayrenik (Mighty Fatherland) HH 3.3 -
Ramgavar Azdagan (Armenian Democratic Liberal Party) RA 2.9 -
Dignity, Democracy, Motherland DDM 2.8 -
Union of Industrialists and Women UIW 2.0 -
Hayastani Komunistakan Kusaktsutyun (Communist Party of Armenia, communist) HKK 2.0 -
Hayastani Zhoghovrdakan Kusaktsutyun (People's Party of Armenia, leftist) HZhK 1.1 -
Labour Law Unity LLU 1.0 -
All Armenian Labour Party ALLP 1
Hanrapetutiun (Republic) H 1
Non-partisans - - 36
To be elected 14 or 15 june 3
Source: Internews.am."

Document(s): www.electionworld.org - Armenia