Transparency International: Yerevan held regular embracing election
By Sabina Idayatova
The regular embracing elections have been held in Yerevan on May 5, Deputy Director of the Transparency International anti-corruption center Sona Ayvazyan told journalists, tert.am reported on Tuesday.
She was commenting on the elections to the Yerevan`s Council of Elders, tert.am reported on Tuesday.
The Council of Elders is the supreme body of local self-government in Yerevan, which exercises control over the work of the mayor.
According to Ayvazyan, with a group of partners they have
initiated a program of Observer Citizen monitoring the election
process in four constituencies which were in the administrative
regions of Malatia-Sebastia, Erebuni, Shengavit and Nubarashen.
Ayvazyan said that the Observer Citizen initiative recorded 570
frauds during the election. "This is a preliminary figure, and
other frauds have not yet been recorded."
Ayvazyan further said that the ruling Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA) and Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) distributed election
bribes. She also mentioned the use of colored pens, double voting
carousel and so on.
On the other hand, Ayvazyan stressed that the election process was
peaceful in other polling stations. However, it was due to the
election committee members, not because there were no election
frauds.
"After the February shock when Serzh Sargsyan did not get the
corresponding number of votes and became president due to the
ballot box stuffing and rigging, the ruling party realized that
they have not worked well with the voters, and put in place
appropriate preparatory work," Ayvazyan said.
According to Ayvazyan, the authorities were well prepared - in
parallel with application of their mechanisms of the use of
administrative resources, inflated electoral rolls, fake, repeated
voting to implement the most advantageous elections.
The district election commissions were presented a number of
complaints however they did not apply to the law enforcement
authorities, as being convinced that the latter will not exercise
their functions.
Seven parties had been registered to stand in the election.
According to preliminary tallies, after processing of the ballots
the ruling Republican Party won the elections with 55.89 percent of
votes.
Prosperous Armenia ranked second with 23.07 percent, while the
bloc of parties "Hello, Yerevan" was third with 8.48 percent. The
opposition Armenian National Congress gained 4.39 percent, while
Dashnaktsutiun had 3.8 percent, Orinats Erkir (the Rule of Law)
party had 3.73 percent, and Arakelutyun (Mission) party just 0.64
percent.
Accordingly, the head of the proportional list of the Republican
Party, Taron Margaryan, was re-elected as the Mayor of Yerevan.