Monitoring of the National Assembly
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Constitutional Referendum Analysis of the Activities of International
Constitutional Referendum Analysis of the Activities of International Monitoring Missions Republic of Armenia December 6, 2016 Authors: Sergey Tkachenko, Yelizaveta Rekhtman Citizen Observer Initiative and European Platform for Democratic Elections Regarding the work of international missions and parliamentary delegations for the constitutional referendum in Armenia, we have to mention that this monitoring is based on information obtained from public sources (media: newspapers, websites, television), as well as information obtained from interviews with observers and representatives of organizations and delegations monitoring the referendum as international observers. This monitoring and evaluation of the international missions focuses on the compliance of the missions’ conduct with the principles and standards of international monitoring outlined in the “Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation,” adopted by the UN on October 27, 2005. The declaration was signed by leading international institutions and organizations engaged in international election observation. It is significant that under the Article 29, Part 2 of the Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia, international organizations, diplomatic and consular missions accredited in the Republic of Armenia, and foreign non-governmental organizations may carry out observation missions only if they have an official invitation to do so. Citizens of the Republic of Armenia cannot be included as observers in the observation missions of international organizations and foreign non-governmental organizations. The following persons and bodies have the right to issue observation mission invitations to individuals and organizations: 1) President of the Republic; 2) President of the National Assembly; 3) Prime Minister; 4) Central Election Commission (CEC). This clause clearly illustrates that the CEC and the leadership of the Republic of Armenia are well aware of the specifics of institutions and organizations that receive such invitations (e.g. -
Final Report
RA Parliamentary Elections April 2, 2017 “Independent Observer” Public Alliance Final Report 2017 RA Parliamentary Elections April 2, 2017 “Independent Observer” Public Alliance Final Report 2017 Editor Artur Sakunts Authors Vardine Grigoryan Anush Hambaryan Daniel Ioannisyan Artur Harutyunyan The observation mission was carried out with the financial assistance of the Council of Europe and European Union, European Endowment for Democracy, Open Society Foundations - Armenia, Sigrid Rausing Trust, Czech Embassy in Armenia and Norwegian Helsinki Committee. The report was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union and Council of Europe. The “Long-term Electoral Assistance to the Election Related Stakeholders in Armenia” Project is funded within European Union and Council of Europe Programmatic Co-operation Framework in the Eastern Partnership Countries for 2015-2017. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to represent the official opinions of the funding organizations. All rights reserved. Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................... 7 Methodology ........................................................................................................ 8 Legislative Framework and Political Context ................................................. 10 Organization of Elections .................................................................................. 18 Electoral Commissions................................................................................... -
Armenian Opposition in Limbo After Government Crackdown
21 YEAR The #9 Noah’s Ark (1049) 2 March 2015 Published Since 1993 Weekly Newspaper HIGHLIGHTS ÜáÛÛ³Ý î³å³Ý ß³μ³Ã³Ã»ñà (³Ý·É. / ýñ³Ýë.) Armenian opposition in limbo after government crackdown Armenia's major opposition parties remain vague on their immediate steps after Prosperous Armenia (BHK), admit- tedly the most influential of them, came under huge government pressure earlier this month. The BHK led by tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan dramatically toned down its criticism of President Serzh Sargsyan and his government after suffering the consequences of what appeared to be a crackdown unleashed by the head of state. Serzh Sargsyan and senior members of his ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) lashed out at Tsarukyan on February 12 after the BHK leader effectively presented them with an "ulti- matum" - to give up controversial plans for a constitutional reform or face sus- tained street protests seeking to oust the current administration. remarks, calling for "peaceful ways" of is one of the key demands of the HHK for After a number of BHK members settling disputes. The BHK effectively the pressure to stop. were detained on suspicion of "illegally stopped its criticism of the government Meanwhile, the two opposition par- possessing weapons" and the govern- and scheduled a party convention for ties - the Armenian National Congress ment ordered tax inspections of business- March 5. Many political observers expect (HAK) and Heritage - that formed an es owned by Tsarukyan's extended fami- Tsarukyan to step down as chairman of informal coalition -
2.The Observation Mission
OBSERVATION MISSION REPORT PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA HELD ON 2 APRIL 2017 Prepared by the Non-Governmental Organisation EUROPE IN LAW ASSOCIATION In the framework of the CITIZEN OBSERVER INITIATIVE YEREVAN ● 2018 OBSERVATION MISSION REPORT PARLIAMENTARY E LECTIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA HELD ON 2 APRIL 2017 Prepared by the Non-Governmental Organisation EUROPE IN LAW ASSOCIATION In the framework of the CITIZEN OBSERVER INITIATIVE YEREVAN ● 2018 Fund ed by the Europ ean Unio n This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the Europe in Law Association NGO and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. This Report was produced by the human rights organisation Europe in Law Association in the framework of the Citizen Observer Initiative following and on the basis of the observation mission carried out by Europe in Law Association, the Journalists’ Club ‘Asparez’ and Transparency International Anti-corruption Center. The observation mission was carried out under the project ‘Public Oversight Over 2017 Parliamentary Elections’ funded by the European Union and co-funded by the National Endowment for Democracy, National Democratic Institute and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Georgia. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the Europe in Law Association and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union, the National Endowment for Democracy, the National Democratic Institute and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Georgia. -
Rigged Referendum
FINAL REPORT Observation Mission for the Constitutional Amendments Referendum of the Republic of Armenia on December 6, 2015 Yerevan, 2016 This Report summarizes the observation mission’s findings concerning the organization and administration of the Constitutional Amendments referendum of the Republic of Armenia. The observation mission was conducted by the Citizen Observer Initiative and the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE), with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), European Endowment for Democracy (EED), the Embassy of Federal Republic of Germany in Yerevan, and the European Union. The opinions contained in the Report are those of the observation mission and do not reflect the views of the funding organizations. The Citizen Observer Initiative (established in 2013) was formed by 4 non-governmental organizations to observe the national and local elections in Armenia for their compliance with national legislation and international democratic standards. The European Platform for Democratic Elections (established in 2012) is a coalition of 13 non- governmental organizations that aims to assist citizens’ election observation in countries of the Eastern Partnership and the Russian Federation, and to contribute to democratic election processes throughout Europe. 2 CONTENTS ACRONYMS .............................................................................................................................. 5 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................... -
Human Rights Situation of Lgbt People
HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION OF LGBT PEOPLE Annual Review Armenia 2015 Annual Review: Human Rights Situation of LGBT People in Armenia, 2015 Published in Armenia (May, 2016) By Public Information Need of Knowledge NGO With funding provided by the Sigrid Rausing Trust Introduction 2015 was a regressive year for LGBT people’s rights in Armenia, since the newly accepted Constitution restricted marriage as a union only between a man and a woman. The issue of same-sex marriage was brought up in a broad manner during debates about the new Constitution, when homophobic political blocs accused authorities of paving the way for same-sex marriages with the new Constitution, which resulted in the redefining of the article on marriage so that homosexual people would not have the possibility to marry. When the “Rainbow” forum took place for the first time in Armenia, and a photograph fea- turing some of the participants was published, a new wave of hatred arose against LGBT people and their allies. Hatred against LGBT people increased so much that the US Embas- sy, the office of the United Nations in Armenia, and Frontline Defenders all expressed their concerns in public statements. 2015 saw no changes in the state’s or wider society’s attitude toward LGBT people. The dissemination of derogatory and malicious information about LGBT people, discrimination, violence and calls for violence, and the spreading of hate speech through the media and online networks all had a continuous nature in 2015. 2015 was also marked by the first-ever outing of an anti-LGBT political figure in Armenia, after it was publicly revealed that a well-known homophobic figure is in fact homosexual. -
Armenia, 2016 and 2018
Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization 26: 4 (Fall 2018): pp. 483-508. MY STEP ASIDE FROM SASNA TSRER: THE DYNAMICS OF PROTEST COALITIONS IN ARMENIA, 2016 AND 2018 NIKOLAI SILAEV MGIMO IVAN FOMIN NATIONAL RESEARCH UNIVERSITY HIGHER SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS Abstract: This article is devoted to the comparison of two Armenian protest coalitions: the 2016 coalition of Sasna Tsrer supporters and Nikol Pashinyan’s My Step coalition of 2018. The analysis shows that Pashinyan’s coalition, unlike the coalition of Sasna Tsrer supporters, was not a liberal-nationalist alliance, but rather a liberal- bureaucratic one. This difference turns out to be crucial, as the Sasna Tsrer polemic was heavily polarized by the clash between the statist and counter-statist frames of the Armenian nation, with none of the sides possessing enough symbolic or political resources to win. The generally successful outcome of Pashinyan’s protest can thus be explained by the fact that it was not so strongly framed by a counter-statist understanding of the Armenian nation. n recent years, Armenia has experienced a series of mass political and Isocial protests.1 In the Million Mask March of 2013, large numbers of anti-government protesters rallied in the streets of Yerevan and clashed 1 The research was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant project N 17-03-12024, “Eurasia Index—Information Analysis System”). Nikolai Silaev is Senior Research Fellow at MGIMO, Moscow, Russia. Contact: nikolai. [email protected]. Ivan Fomin is Associate Professor at National Research University Higher School of Economics and Research Fellow at INION RAN, Moscow, Russia. -
Report on Findings of Mass Media Monitoring in Armenia
REPORT ON FINDINGS OF MASS MEDIA MONITORING IN ARMENIA Monitoring has been done by the team of the Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation (ACGRC), Yerevan, Republic of Armenia www.acgrc.am CONTENT I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................ 2 II. TERMINOLOGY AND ABBREVIATIONS USED ................................................................................... 3 III. MONITORING METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 4 IV. MONITORING OF TV PROGRAMS ........................................................................................................ 5 4.1. “Time will show” .................................................................................................................................................. 5 4.2. “60 minutes” ....................................................................................................................................................... 13 4.3. “Evening with Vladimir Solovyov” .............................................................................................................. 22 4.4. “Countdown” ....................................................................................................................................................... 29 V. SPECIAL OVERVIEW ..............................................................................................................................