08.05.2003 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Numerous irregularities recorded during the 2002 local elections ("Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Armenia") [#12599],  [ID 2868]

"On June 7, in compliance with recommendations of the Council of Europe, Armenia adopted amendments to the Election Law to align it with European standards. On October 20, local elections were held and they were monitored both by local and foreign observers. Following the elections, the Council of Europe monitors stated that “Armenia has taken another substantial step towards democracy. The elections were held almost corresponding to international standards.” Nevertheless, the ambassadors of the USA, Great Britain, Germany, France and the OSCE, as well as the representatives of the UN and the International Foundation of Election Systems (IFES) addressed a letter to the Central Election Commission stating that it was indispensable to remove a number of deficiencies registered during local elections before the upcoming presidential elections on February 19, 2003 and parliamentary elections on May 25, 2003. In particular, they said, it was necessary to make sure that names of deceased persons no longer appeared on election registers and that proxy voting was not possible; during the local election, in some instances individuals who were outside Armenia during the polling were registered as having cast their ballots. Other irregularities included simultaneous voting in the same booths by many persons; extension of election registers, multiple voting, and the failure of police officers to exercise their duties during the polls. According to experts, the Election Code must be amended to improve the formation of election commissions to ensure that the non-parliamentary opposition is adequately represented in them5 and enjoys the capacity to effectively supervise the process of the elections. Further, the procedure of nominating candidates for both parliament and presidency should be differentiated in order to enhance the role of political parties in society.6 The representatives of the Helsinki Association, who observed the 2002 local elections in the Prefecture of the Center, recorded numerous irregularities. For example, voters were taken in an organized way by bus from one polling-station to another to vote several times under different names. Several authorized observers were not allowed to enter polling station despite the fact that they showed authorization, and some were forcefully removed from the stations by. In some cases, polling stations were closed down before the end of official opening hours. At some stations, additional names were entered on the voter registers (in the town of Gumri the number of voters was extended by an additional 21,000). In addition, prominent individuals - including the president and the mayor of Vanadzor - tried to encourage people to “make the right choice.”"

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