Armenia has addressed a number of previous recommendations of OSCE/ODIHR, says the OSCE/ODIHR interim report on parliamentary elections in Armenia.
According to the report, parliamentary elections are regulated by a comprehensive but complex legal framework, which was significantly amended in 2016 through an inclusive reform process that was seen by most OSCE/ODIHR EOM interlocutors as a step forward in building overall confidence in the electoral process.
“Civil society organizations were initially involved in the discussions of the draft Electoral Code, but did not endorse the final text, as their calls to ease restrictions on citizen observers were not addressed,” the document says.
The elections are administered by a three-tiered system, comprising the Central Election Commission (CEC), 38 Territorial Election Commissions (TECs), and 2,009 Precinct Election Commissions (PECs). The CEC regularly holds open sessions and publishes its decisions on its website. The PECs were formed by the TECs on 11 March. Some OSCE/ODIHR EOM interlocutors expressed concerns about PECs capacity to deal with the new voting procedures.
The OSCE/ODIHR experts note that voter registration is passive and based on the population register. OSCE/ODIHR EOM interlocutors generally assessed the accuracy of the voter list positively. In line with the law and in an effort to prevent voter impersonation, the CEC intends to publish scanned copies of the signed voter lists after the elections.
On election day, in a further effort to prevent voter fraud, voters will be identified through electronic Voter Authentication Devices (VADs). The use of VADs has been welcomed by most OSCE/ODIHR EOM interlocutors. However, due to the late development of the software and testing of the VADs, concerns have been raised about their functioning on election day.
“The official election campaign started on 5 March. Allegations have been raised about widespread vote-buying by most OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission interlocutors. There is also a prevalent perception that pressure and intimidation of voters will occur during the campaign,” the report reads.
As to the media environment, the expert say it is dominated by politically affiliated television.
“A free Internet contributes to political pluralism and critical reporting. Contestants have so far received an equal amount of free airtime on the public broadcaster and have the right to purchase advertising time under equal conditions.
The contestants provide regular reporting on campaign finance, including before election day. Despite a prior OSCE/ODIHR recommendation, so-called organizational expenditures, such as for campaign offices, transport, and communication are excluded from the reporting.”
The legal framework provides for international and citizen observation and entitles party proxies to be present at polling stations. To address potential overcrowding certain limitations were introduced on the number of citizen observers and media representatives at polling stations. Civil society and journalists raised concerns about these provisions.
