Int'l observers laud Armenian election governance, yet note state violations, pressure on voters
YEREVAN. April 3 (Interfax) - The Armenian parliamentary election was well-run despite a series of shortcomings and violations, head of the OSCE short-term election observation mission Ignacio Sanchez Amor said.
The election was well-governed, and voter rights were protected, he told a press briefing on Monday, adding that reports of bribery and pressure on campaign representatives made a negative impression. The voting day was calm, however, there were cases of party interference, he said.
Sanchez Amor said that the legal framework was comprehensive and described that circumstance as a confidence building step.
He explained a shortage of public trust with bribes and pressure on campaign representatives, multiple voting, and voting in somebody else's stead.
The vote counting was transparent, Sanchez Amor said.
He noted the importance of further reforms and urged the government and the parliamentary majority to change political culture.
For her part, PACE mission head Liliane Maury Pasquier said that efforts had been made to improve the quality of elections and welcomed those efforts by the authorities. Despite legislative amendments, the elections did not see strong voter trust, she said, adding that this factor was important for democracy and describing the general atmosphere of elections as unsatisfactory.
According to the PACE mission head, voters experienced pressure and the monitors could see that their fear was stronger than hope. Good laws can work only if there a political will, she said.
Head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly mission Jorgen Bekkevold said, in turn, that the Assembly was interested in the legitimacy of the election's outcome. He confirmed that the election was well-governed but said that reports of bribes and pressure on voters had an impact on the voting process, elections commissions were exhibiting strain, and voters had a poor knowledge of new technologies and the new voting procedure. Bekkevold called for carrying on the reforms.
OSCE/ODIHR mission chief Jan Petersen agreed with his colleagues and thanked the authorities, the Foreign Ministry, the Central Elections Commission, parties and media outlets for helping the observers understand the situation better. He promised to post a final report within two months. Petersen said that the observers would stay in Armenia for another two weeks in order to watch post-election developments.
