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Armenia’s elections: Pre-electoral bribery gains momentum

31 March 2017 16:43 (UTC+04:00)
Armenia’s elections: Pre-electoral bribery gains momentum

By Rashid Shirinov

The voter bribery in connection with the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia is gaining momentum as more and more cases of pre-electoral bribery revealed.

The Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center has conducted research in Yerevan and 12 other cities of Armenia. The results of the monitoring entitled “Abuse of Administrative Resources in 2017 Elections” revealed violations connected with the use of administrative resources throughout the whole country.

A total of 45 cases of distribution or promise of election bribes were recorded in Armenia, from March 13 to 24, said Varuzhan Hoktanyan, Executive Director of the Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center in Armenia.

Hoktanyan stated that there were cases when officials, as well as employees from educational institutions joined the campaigning—for the parliamentary election—during working hours, and that the representatives of law enforcement agencies also had partaken in the campaigning.

He added that there were cases of pressures and threats, and, also, voters were enlisted plus people’s passports were collected for “charity.”

In the Transparency International official’s words, abuse of administrative resources was recorded all through Armenia.

Hoktanyan added that representatives of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia and the Tsarukyan Bloc, which is led by opposition Prosperous Armenia Party Chairman and businessman MP Gagik Tsarukyan, either distributed or made promises for election bribes.

Western countries are also concerned over the negative facts reported in the pre-election period in this country.

“We are aware of and concerned by allegations of voter intimidation, attempts to buy votes, and the systemic use of administrative resources to aid certain competing parties,” reads a statement issued by the European Union, the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom on the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia.

“We note that our ultimate assessment of the conduct of the April 2 election will not be limited to observing electoral procedures on Election Day, itself,” the statement added.

The statement further urged all parties engaged in the election to abide by the letter and spirit of Armenia’s electoral law, and called upon relevant law enforcement authorities and electoral institutions to implement existing laws in an unbiased and credible manner.

The statement noted that over the past year, the European Union, the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom have offered significant financial and technical support to Armenia’s voting process, including providing equipment to facilitate a free and fair parliamentary election on April 2.

The delegation hoped that this effort will diminish the likelihood of voter fraud on the election day and will limit tampering with the electoral process inside polling stations.

However, given the Armenian realities, a fair election in this country is unlikely. Considering the ardor of the Republican Party of Armenia to power, there is no doubt that President Sargsyan and his team will do their utmost to win the election and will apply wide bribery and fraud for that.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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