http://assembly.coe.int Doc. 14801 21 January 2019 Observation of the early parliamentary elections in Armenia (9 December 2019) Election observation report Bureau of the Assembly Rapporteur: Mr Aleksander POCIEJ, Poland, Group of the European People's Party Contents Page 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 1 2. Political context ........................................................................................................................................ 2 3. Legal framework and electoral system .....................................................................................................3 4. Election administration ............................................................................................................................. 3 5. Voter lists and candidate registration ....................................................................................................... 4 6. Election campaign, funding and the media ...............................................................................................5 7. Complaints and appeals ...........................................................................................................................7 8. Citizen and international observers .......................................................................................................... 8 9. Voting and counting ................................................................................................................................. 8 10. Conclusions and recommendations ..................................................................................................... 10 Appendix 1 – List of the members of the ad hoc committee .......................................................................12 Appendix 2 – Programme of the meetings of the ad hoc committee (7-10 December 2018) ..................... 13 Appendix 3 – Press release of the International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) ..............................15 1. Introduction 1. On 1 November 2018, the President of Armenia, Mr Armen Sarkissian, announced early parliamentary elections to be held on 9 December. On 2 November, Mr Ara Babloyan, President of the National Assembly of Armenia, sent to the Parliamentary Assembly an official invitation to observe the elections. The Bureau decided to observe them and constituted an ad hoc committee for this purpose composed of 31 members (EPP/CD: 10; SOC: 10, EC: 5, ALDE: 3, UEL: 2, FDG: 1 – in accordance with the D’Hondt system) as well as of the co-rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee. On 22 November it approved the list of members of the ad hoc committee and appointed Mr Aleksander Pociej (Poland, EPP/CD) as Chairperson. The list of members is set out in Appendix 1. 2. In accordance with the co-operation agreement signed between the Parliamentary Assembly and the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) on 4 October 2004, a representative from the Venice Commission was invited to join the ad hoc committee as an adviser. F - 67075 Strasbourg Cedex | [email protected] | Tel: +33 3 88 41 2000 | assembly.coe.int Doc. 14801 Election observation report 3. The ad hoc committee (PACE delegation) visited Armenia from 7 to 10 December 2018. It operated as part of an International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) together with delegations from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE-PA), the European Parliament and the electoral observation mission (EOM) of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR). The programme of the delegation’s meetings is set out in Appendix 2. 4. On polling day, the PACE delegation split into seven teams which observed the elections in Yerevan and the surrounding region, as well as in the following areas: Razdan, Gavar, Erebouni, Artashat, Yeghegnadzor, Vanadzor and Ararat. 5. The PACE delegation concluded that the 9 December early parliamentary elections in Armenia were held with due regard for fundamental freedoms and enjoyed broad public trust that needs to be preserved through further electoral reforms. Open political debate, including in the media, contributed to a vibrant campaign. The peaceful so-called “velvet revolution”, in conjunction with the political will of the current authorities, enabled the holding of democratic elections. 6. The Parliamentary Assembly has observed every election in Armenia since 1995 and, despite the complex electoral system and reported instances of intimidation via social media, the electoral irregularities which tainted many elections in the past were absent. It is up to Armenia’s elected representatives to launch legal reforms to consolidate the democratic process in the country. 7. The press release by the IEOM is set out in Appendix 3. 8. The ad hoc committee wishes to thank the heads and members of the parliamentary delegations of the OSCE-PA and of the European Parliament and the OSCE/ODIHR EOM for their excellent co-operation within the IEOM. 2. Political context 9. The last parliamentary elections in Armenia took place on 2 April 2017. They were the first parliamentary elections held following the 2015 constitutional amendments, which reduced the powers of the President in favour of the Prime Minister and the parliament. The Assembly’s ad hoc committee observed the referendum of 2015 which led to a new Constitution and in its conclusions it pointed out that “the core of the constitutional change – the shift from a presidential to a parliamentary system – was seen by many as simply a means for the current president to remain in power after the end of his second (and what would have been final) term – even though he repeatedly stated that he had no intention of doing so” after the 2017 elections. 10. One year after the last parliamentary elections in 2017, in April 2018 the former President Serzh Sargsyan was appointed Prime Minister with the power of Head of State following the constitutional changes. This event was one of the main reasons for anti-government protests in April 2018, which organisers described as a non- violent “velvet revolution”, and which resulted in the resignation of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and a change of power. On 8 May, the parliament, in a second attempt, elected opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan as the new Prime Minister. The government formed by Prime Minister Pashinyan committed to electoral reform and holding new parliamentary elections within one year. 11. On 17 October, the government submitted to the parliament draft amendments to the Electoral Code in an attempt to introduce significant changes to the electoral system and other aspects of elections.These included the removal of open district lists, a switch to a purely proportional system with a 30% gender quota and lower thresholds for seat allocation. The proposed amendments failed to receive the required three-fifths majority in the parliament in a final vote held three days before the call for early elections. 12. On 1 November, the President announced early elections to be held on 9 December. These elections were the result of a tactical resignation by Prime Minister Pashinyan on 16 October aimed at dissolving the parliament. A majority of members of parliament agreed, in advance, not to elect a new Prime Minister so as to allow early elections. 13. Women are under-represented in public office, holding 19% of seats in the last parliament, one of the 21 acting ministerial posts, none of the 10 governor positions, and only one out of 49 mayoral posts. 2 Doc. 14801 Election observation report 3. Legal framework and electoral system 14. The Assembly’s ad hoc committee recalls that Armenia has signed and ratified the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5) and its Additional Protocol (ETS No. 9), which enshrine a number of principles crucial for an effective and meaningful democracy, such as the right to free elections (Article 3 of the Additional Protocol), freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, as well as prohibition of discrimination (Articles 10, 11 and 14 of the Convention). 15. The legal framework for parliamentary elections is comprehensive. The elections are primarily regulated by the Constitution and the Electoral Code adopted in 2016 and last amended in May 2018 in relation to parliamentary elections. The legal framework encompasses a number of other laws, including the Law on Political Parties, the Law on Freedom of Assembly, the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offences, as well as decisions of the Central Election Commission (CEC). 16. The May 2018 amendments to the Electoral Code and other legislation expanded the list of public officials and employees prohibited from campaigning and lifted restrictions on accreditation of media representatives, in line with previous Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR recommendations. In addition, greater sanctions and penalties were set for electoral offences, and criminal liability was introduced for forcing an individual to conduct a political campaign, for facilitation of vote-buying and for charity organised for the purpose of influencing voters. In addition to the election commissions, political parties, candidates and observers now also have the right to initiate investigations of administrative offences. 17. The PACE delegation, in its report on the observation of the 2017 parliamentary