"Shame on you!"
"The electoral system of Armenia was finally ruined after yesterday's election," announced Amalia Kostanyan, Head of the Transparency International Organization.
"Yesterday's poll was a real shock for us. The whole process was accompanied by infringements of different scale; there was great crowding and stuffing at polling stations."
Mrs. Kostanyan qualified the election in Malatia-Sebastia district as the most immoral and cynic.
Together with the Helsinki Citizens Assembly of Vanadzor (HCAV), representatives of the Transparency International witnesses ballot stuffing, bribery, violence against observers and journalist and numerous infringements.
Arthur Sakunts, Head of Vanadzor office, says he was even invited to dinner. After becoming convinced that Sakunts couldn't be bribed, they tried to threaten him: "You have seen too much. We shall glue your eyes so that you will see nothing".
Election commissions are set up to rig elections," announced Mr. Sakunts. Amalia Kostanyan quoted a commission chairman: "Do you understand that I keep a family and solve the problem of daily bread. I am even ready to kill a human being to keep my family".
What's the use of speaking about elections if someone says he is ready to kill a man?" wondered Mrs. Kostanyan.
Unlike international observers, the local ones do not assess yesterday's vote as positive.
"If observers said the elections of 2007 and 2008 were in line with European standards, today they were supposed to make a similar statement. This is a policy," adds Mrs. Kostanyan.
She thinks 15 people cannot conduct an observation mission and give a positive assessment of an election. "Shame on them," added Arthur Sakunts.
Note that the phrases "Shame on them" and "This is a policy" were not translated for the representatives of the Council of European.
