Observers tell about violations at elections in Armenia

There were violations at the parliamentary elections in Armenia, but they were not widespread, members of observation missions have stated at a press conference in Yerevan. According to human rights defenders, these elections were the first free and competitive ones in recent years, but during the electoral campaigns, parties and blocs used the "hate speech".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 9, residents of Armenia elected their MPs by the proportional (by party lists) and rating (majority) systems. According to the outcomes of processing 100 percent of the ballots, the "My Step" block and the "Prosperous Armenia" and "Flourishing Armenia" Parties passed into the Parliament.

The recent extraordinary parliamentary elections became the first free and competitive ones in recent years, Sona Aivazyan, the director of the Anti-Corruption Centre of the Transparency International, stated at a press conference in the "DoubleTree Hilton" Hotel in Yerevan on December 10.

"There was no pressure on voters, no making preliminary lists. Cases of abuse of administrative resources were fixed, but not at such a scale as before, and not such significant," Ms Aivazyan said.

At the same time, she expressed concern about the rhetoric of mutual hatred during campaigning. Nevertheless, all political forces, in her opinion, had equal opportunities to campaign.

"There were separate incidents, but in percentage terms, they are insignificant. I hope that the remarks will be taken into account and problems will be eliminated by the next elections," she has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 11, 2018 at 05:58 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.