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Observation of the Presidential Election in Armenia (19 February 2008)

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Observation of the Presidential Election in Armenia (19 February 2008) Parliamentary Assembly Assemblée parlementaire Doc. 11564 14 April 2008 Observation of the Presidential Election in Armenia (19 February 2008) Report 1 Ad hoc Committee of the Bureau of the Assembly Rapporteur: Mr John PRESCOTT, United Kingdom, Socialist Group Contents I. Introduction II. Political and legal context III. Election Administration IV. Candidate and Voter Registration V. Pre-election period and the Media VI. Election Day – Vote count and tabulation – and election complaints VII. Post-election developments VIII. Conclusions and recommendations The Presidential election in Armenia, on 19 February 2008, was administered mostly in line with Council of Europe standards. The authorities made improvements to the legal framework, but did not demonstrate commensurate political will to ensure its full implementation. The Ad Hoc Committee urges the authorities to address the shortcomings and challenges outlined in this report, especially with regard to the lack of public trust in the electoral system and its outcome . I. Introduction, by Mr John Prescott, Head of Delegation 1. Following an invitation by the Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, the Bureau of the Assembly decided to set up an Ad Hoc Committee to observe the Presidential election in Armenia, scheduled for 19 February 2008, and appointed me as the Chairman and Rapporteur of the Ad Hoc Committee. 2. On 4 October 2004, a co-operation agreement was signed between the Parliamentary Assembly and the European Commission for Democracy through Law (“Venice Commission”). In conformity with Article 15 of the agreement, “When the Bureau of the Assembly decides to observe an election in a country in which electoral legislation was previously examined by the Venice Commission, one of the rapporteurs of the Venice Commission on this issue may be invited to join the Assembly’s election observation mission as legal adviser”, the Bureau of the Assembly invited an expert from the Venice Commission to join the Ad Hoc Committee as advisor. 1 Approved by the Bureau at its meeting on 14 April 2008. F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex, e-mail: [email protected] http://assembly.coe.int tel : + 33 3 88 41 2000, fax + 33 3 88 41 2776 Doc. 11564 3. Based on the proposals by the political groups in the Assembly, the Ad Hoc Committee was composed as follows: Socialist Group (SOC) Mr John Prescott United Kingdom Mr Vidar Bjørnstad Norway Mr Michael Hagberg Sweden Ms Sinikka Hurskainen Finland Mr Reijo Kallio Finland Mr Neven Mimica Croatia Mr René Rouquet France Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD) Mr Jean-Guy Branger France Mr Georges Colombier France Ms Danuta Jazłowiecka Poland Ms Corien Jonker Netherlands Mr Eduard Lintner Germany Mr Dariusz Lipi ński Poland Ms Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin Sweden Mr François Rochebloine France Mr Egidijus Vareikis Lithuania Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Ms Aneliya Atanasova Bulgaria Lord Russell Johnston United Kingdom Ms Nursuna Memecan Turkey Mr Andrea Rigoni Italy Mr Frans Weekers Netherlands European Democrat Group (EDG) Mr Nigel Evans United Kingdom Mr Igor Chernyshenko Russia Ms Aldona Staponkiené Lithuania Group of the Unified European Left (UEL) Mr Bjørn Jacobsen Norway Venice Commission Mr Owen Masters United Kingdom Secretariat Mr Bas Klein, Deputy Head, Interparliamentary co-operation and election observation Mrs Daniele Gastl, Assistant, Interparliamentary co-operation and election observation Mrs Nathalie Bargellini, Press Officer 4. The Ad Hoc Committee acted as part of the International Election Observation Mission (IEOM), which also included delegations of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE-PA), the European Parliament (EP) and the Election Observation Mission of the Organisation for Co-operation and Security in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR). 5. The Ad Hoc Committee met in Yerevan from 18 to 20 February 2008 and held meetings with, inter alia, candidates competing in these elections, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), the Head of the Election Observation Mission of the OSCE/ODIHR and his staff, as well as 2 Doc. 11564 representatives of civil society and the mass media. The programme of the meetings of the Ad Hoc Committee appears in Appendix 1. 6. On Election Day, the Ad Hoc Committee was split into 15 teams which observed the elections in and around Ararat, Artashat, Ashtarak, Masis, Sevan, Yeghvard and Yerevan 7. In order to draw up an assessment of the electoral campaign, as well as the political climate in the run-up to the elections, the Bureau sent a pre-electoral mission to Armenia from 29 to 31 January 2008. The cross-party pre-electoral delegation consisted of Mr John Prescott (United Kingdom, SOC), Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee and Head of Delegation, Lord Russell-Johnston (United Kingdom, ALDE) and Mr Bjørn Jacobsen (Norway, UEL). Unfortunately the EPP/CD and EDG groups could not identify a member available for the dates of the visit. In Yerevan, the pre-electoral delegation met with, inter alia, the President of Armenia, the Chairman of the National Assembly of Armenia, the Armenian delegation to PACE, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), the Presidential candidates, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, the Head of the Police, the international community in Armenia, as well as representatives of the mass media and civil society. The statement issued by the pre-electoral delegation at the end of their visit appears in Appendix 2. 8. In its statement of preliminary findings and conclusions delivered the day after the elections, when the tabulation process was yet to be completed, the IEOM concluded that “The Presidential Election in Armenia, on 19 February 2008, was administered mostly in line with OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards […] However, further improvements and commensurate political will are required to address remaining challenges such as: the absence of a clear separation between State and party functions, the lack of public confidence in the electoral process and ensuring equal treatment among election contestants”. The joint IEOM press release appears in Appendix 3. 9. The Ad Hoc Committee wishes to thank the National Assembly of Armenia, the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission and the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in Yerevan for their co-operation and the support provided to the Ad Hoc Committee and its pre-electoral mission. II. Political and legal context 10. The conduct of elections in Armenia has long been a point of concern for the Assembly. The Parliamentary and Presidential Elections in 2003 were assessed as not complying with Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections. However, in a development welcomed by the Assembly, the last Parliamentary Elections, held on 12 May 2007, demonstrated improvements and were largely in line with Council of Europe commitments and standards, although a number of important issues remained unaddressed. In the run-up to the Presidential election the authorities frequently stated their firm intention to further improve the electoral process and to conduct a Presidential election that would be fully in line with international standards. The election was therefore an important indicator of the political will and ability of the authorities to organise genuinely democratic elections and to consolidate democratic progress in Armenia. 11. The Presidential election was also an important indicator regarding the future political direction of the country as the incumbent President, Robert Kocharyan, could not stand for re-election as a result of the Constitutional two-term limit for a President. 12. While a presidential election should in principle be a race between individual candidates, the election was a de facto contest between a government supported candidate and a number of candidates nominated by opposition parties and forces. The parties in the government coalition supported the candidature of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan. The opposition parties, while joined in their opposition to his candidature, failed to agree on a unified opposition candidate. This underlines the fragmented nature of the opposition in Armenia. 13. The dynamics of the election changed with the unexpected candidature of former President Levon Ter-Petrossyan, who was the first President of Armenia from 1991 to 1998. His candidature considerably increased the competitive nature of the election, and substantially hardened the campaign rhetoric in the run-up to the election, not the least by the authorities. 3 Doc. 11564 14. The election took place in the context of a very low level of public confidence and trust in the electoral process and in the legitimacy of its outcome. This was underscored by persistent rumours and allegations in the pre-electoral period that electoral fraud and misconduct, such as vote buying, would take place and that the results would be stolen. However, it should be noted that these allegations were also partly the result of the campaign tactics of some of the candidates. Similarly, there seemed to be little trust in the independence of the judiciary and election administration as impartial arbiters in the case of election disputes. This point was repeatedly made by election contestants and other interlocutors when the pre-election delegation asked why, despite the many allegations, so few formal complaints had been filed with the CEC and courts. More worrisome, a number of different interlocutors mentioned that the lack of formal complaints may also have been caused by a fear of reprisal from the authorities. A high public confidence in the electoral system and its administration is essential for the conduct of genuinely democratic elections. The pre-electoral mission therefore urged the authorities to take all necessary measures to ensure the highest possible public confidence in the electoral process and its outcome. 15. Under the provisions in the Constitution of Armenia, the President is elected by direct election for a five-year term by absolute majority of votes cast.
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