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25 MINUTES TO ARMENIA

Politics

The presentations and discussions on the 12 May NA elections in Armenia lasted 25 minutes at the PACE. Leo Platvoet, (Netherlands), who headed the PACE observation mission delegation during the elections, briefly presented their assessments on the elections.

“The Parliamentary elections in Armenia, held on 12 May 2007, were largely held in line with Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections, although shortcomings remain. The Armenian Authorities, as well as other electoral stakeholders, showed the political will to address previous shortcomings and to improve the conduct of these elections, although some issues remain unaddressed”, said Leo Platvoet in his speech.

“Regrettably, the shortcomings and irregularities, some of which were serious, observed during the crucial vote count and tabulation processes stain the positive preliminary assessment”.

“To date, none of the elections organized in Armenia since its independence was considered to be conducted in line with Council of Europe and other international standards for democratic elections. The Parliamentary elections on 12 May 2007 were therefore a crucial touchstone for Armenia to demonstrate its political will to organize genuinely democratic elections in line with the commitments it undertook when acceding to the Council of Europe”.

“The Parliamentary elections should be seen in the context of the upcoming Presidential Elections in Armenia, which are foreseen to take place in 2008. In those elections, the incumbent President Mr Robert Kocharyan, is precluded from standing for re-election as a result of the constitutional limit of two consecutive terms”.

“The opposition in Armenia is fragmented. The largest opposition coalition during the 2003 elections, the Justice Bloc, fell apart and its members were all participating in these elections individually. Moreover, most opposition parties seemed to have lost a degree of popular support, and their position seemed to have weakened, as a result of their decision to boycott the Constitutional referendum in 2005”, stated Leo Platvoet in his speech on the NA elections in Armenia.

None of the following speeches dwelt on the Armenian elections.

It is noteworthy, that Armen Rustamyan and Hermine Bisharyan participate at the PACE summer session.