YEREVAN.- Observation mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) issued on Friday a second interim report on Armenia’s elections. The text of executive summary is below:
“The election campaign, which officially started on 8 April, is vibrant. Contestants are generally able to campaign and have been provided with free venues and poster space. However, there have been instances of obstruction of campaign activities, including two violent scuffles in Yerevan.
The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission (EOM) has noted cases where campaign provisions of the Electoral Code were violated. These included campaigning in schools, teachers and students being asked to attend campaign events of the Republican Party of Armenia, and campaign material of some parties being placed on municipal buildings and polling stations. A business owned by the leader of Prosperous Armenia is distributing tractors in several provinces, de facto as part of the party’s campaign. As of 17 April, the police has examined or was examining 14 cases of possible electoral offences.
Preparations for the elections are proceeding according to legal deadlines. The Central Election Commission (CEC) and Territorial Election Commissions (TECs) continue to work in an open and transparent manner. Precinct Election Commissions (PECs) have been formed and are being trained. The CEC has adopted and published the main procedural rules and official documents, well in advance of election day.
The media monitored by the OSCE/ODIHR EOM are providing extensive political and election-related coverage. Before the start of the official campaign, the President and government officials received extensive coverage in the monitored media. After 8 April this has decreased significantly, with media focusing on the major parties and the one registered bloc. The public broadcaster is fulfilling its obligation to provide parties and blocs registered for the proportional elections with free and paid airtime.
As of 20 April, the CEC had received more than 80 complaints, the vast majority filed by the same individual. While denying them consideration since private citizens do not have the right to file complaints unrelated to their personal voting rights, the CEC examined the substance of some of these complaints, and found no violations of the Electoral Code. Four cases regarding candidate registration were filed with the Administrative Court, all connected to the five-year residency requirement for candidate registration. All were rejected on technicalities without examining the core issue whether the residence requirement had been legally satisfied.”
