05.2003 - Source: Federal Foreign Office (Germany)

Results of the 1999 Armenian National Assmbley elections ("Auswärtiges Amt, Results of the 1999 Armenien National Assmebley elections") [ID 2873]

"Präsidialrepublik seit 1991
Verfassung von 1995
Parlament mit 131 Mitgliedern, Wahl alle 4 Jahre. Direktwahl des Staatsoberhaupts alle 5 Jahre.
Staatsoberhaupt: Robert Kotscharjan, seit 1998
Regierungschef: Andranik Margarian, seit 20.05.2000
Außenminister: Vartan Oskanian, seit 1998

Parlament und Politische Parteien

Aus den Wahlen zur armenischen Nationalversammlung am 30.05.1999 (131 Sitze), zu der 21 Parteien und Wahlbündnisse angetreten waren, ging der Block „Einheit" als Sieger hervor. Dieses Wahlbündnis konnte 41,67% der abgegebenen Stimmen erringen. Zweitstärkste Kraft wurde im neuen Parlament die kommunistische Partei.
Vier weitere Parteien konnten die 5%-Hürde überwinden. In Armenien sind zur Zeit 104 Parteien registriert.
Nächste Wahltermine: Parlament: 25.05.2003"

Document(s): Auswärtiges Amt, Results of the 1999 Armenien National Assmebley elections

31.03.2003 - Source: US Department of State

The 1999 parliamentary elections still failed to meet international standards for free and fair elections ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2002") [#11840],  [ID 2870]

"The 1999 parliamentary elections and several by-elections during 1999 and 2000 represented a step toward compliance with OSCE commitments, but still failed to meet international standards for free and fair elections. The OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) observers voiced most concern over the poor quality of the voter lists, which were often outdated or inaccurate; mistakes in registration and voting by military personnel; problems in the formation of the election commissions and the status of their members; and the presence of unauthorized personnel in precincts during voting and counting procedures. Fourteen criminal cases related to parliamentary election fraud were still under investigation by the Procurator General's office in 2001. At year's end, four cases had not been resolved, three had been closed because the perpetrators appeared to be juveniles, six cases had been closed because the perpetrators agreed to pay compensation for damages, and one case went to court and ended in an administrative fine. However, a new case was opened with regard to the October 20 municipal elections, which remained pending at year's end. Nonetheless observers from OSCE/ODIHR categorized the 1999 Parliamentary elections as a step towards compliance with OSCE commitments, and noted improvements in the electoral framework and the rights of freedom of association, freedom of assembly, and freedom of expression. In many precincts, election officials, candidates' proxies, and domestic observers worked together to provide transparent voting and counting procedures.
The May 1999 elections took place under a new electoral code that represented an improvement compared with previous legislation and incorporated some recommendations of international organizations. For example, the code provides for the accreditation of domestic nonpartisan observers, and provides for the courts to address electoral complaints during the campaign rather than after results are announced."

Document(s): Open document

31.03.2003 - Source: US Department of State

In a July 1999 by-election in Yerevan's Achapniak district, violence erupted ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2002") [#11840],  [ID 2871]

"In a July 1999 by-election in Yerevan's Achapniak district, violence erupted when armed supporters of one of the candidates beat and opened fire on supporters of another candidate. The Central Elections Commission (CEC) suspended this vote and declared it invalid. A criminal investigation resulted in the arrest of 12 persons. According to the Procurator General's office, all 12 eventually went to prison for the Achapianak disturbances; of those, 8 were sentenced to two years each, while the remaining four got probationary terms of 16 to 20 months and were released on probation. Ten of these individuals were released under the June amnesty. The Achapniak by-election subsequently was held again--the two candidates involved in the altercation were removed from the ballot--and took place without incident."

Document(s): Open document

01.06.1999 - Source: British Helsinki Human Rights Group

Background paper on the 1999 Parliamentary elections in Armenia ("Armenia 1999: Parliamentary elections") [#402],  [ID 2872]

"Conclusion

The Unity Bloc triumphed and powerful individuals in Armenia managed to steer themselves into government through the 30th May parliamentary elections. Vazgen Sargssian, the architect of the victory, is now prime minister, his partner, Karen Demirchian, speaker of parliament.

Undoubtedly, the electoral system which still has a predominantly majoritarian base contributed to the victory of the Unity Bloc. Candidates with strong business and administrative ties at the local level were able to exert pressure on voters, something that we heard about or detected at polling stations visited. Many nominally independent candidates, quite naturally, will gravitate to the ‘party of power’.

Such pressure and/or influence could have been compounded by the army of proxies and observers present in all the polling stations. While it would be nice to think that the bona fides of such people were honourable the behavior of many of them led BHHRG observers to think they could have intimidated people to vote in a certain way. In small, close-knit communities this was all the more likely to be the case. The potentially oppressive way ballot boxes were supervised during the poll gave further cause for concern.

Although some of the procedures followed in the election (due to the new law) were an improvement on 1995, underlying problems still remain. The appearance of so many small parties late in the day raises suspicions, more so when the new law presents many opportunities for such ‘parties’ to actively participate in the conduct of the poll.

For whatever reason, be it incompetence or foul play, the many inaccuracies in the voters registers raises serious concerns about the legitimacy of the whole process. As stated before in this report, there is no reason why the authorities in Armenia should not be able to maintain and update voters’ lists on a regular basis.

No election is either good or bad in the same way. BHHRG observers saw few examples of multiple voting and no cases of ballot stuffing in the Armenian election However, the ultimate test for an election to be acceptable is how much latitude the voters have to make their choices and whether the conditions exist for these choices to be made freely and fairly. The state of affairs that made it so easy for a powerful clique of politicians and businessmen to be elected on 30th May 1999 mean that it is impossible to say that these conditions did, in fact, exist."

Document(s): Open document