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2007 Assessment

Armenia: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Armenia: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Voting & Citizen Participation
Indicators		Score
14	Is there a legal framework guaranteeing the right to vote?	100
15	Can all citizens exercise their right to vote?	58
16	Are citizens able to participate equally in the political process?	70

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is there a legal framework guaranteeing the right to vote?

14a: In law, universal and equal adult suffrage is guaranteed to all citizens.

Score:

YES

Comments: The Armenian Constitution guarantees to all adults, with some exceptions (prisoners and some military servants) the right to vote. However, during the 2006 Parliament elections, a large number of Armenian citizens who are living or working abroad or just traveling in foreign countries were not allowed to vote at Armenian Embassies and consulates as it usually was done before. According to the head of the Migration Department of Armenia, currently only in the Russian Federation 500.000 Armenian citizens are working (See "Aravot" daily newspaper July 26, 2007). Hundreds of thousands Armenian citizens are living in the U.S. and Europe. In this way the Armenian government deprived them of their rights, confining their suffrage to the limits of Armenia. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, article 30, in Armenia all of the adult citizens are eligible to vote at polling stations they are assigned based on their domicile registered. The government doesn't hinder those citizens residing abroad to come and exercise their voting rights. However, in practice, many citizens experience a lot of money and time-related difficulties to assist and vote on the particular polling day.

References: The Constitution of the Republic of Armenia www.parliament.am www.arlis.am

14b: In law, there is a legal framework requiring that elections be held at regular intervals.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The Constitution of the Republic of Armenia www.parliament.am www.arlis.am

Can all citizens exercise their right to vote?

15a: In practice, all adult citizens can vote.

Score:

100

Comments: By law, all adult citizens of Armenia can vote regardless of where they live. However, before 2007 parliamentary elections in Armenia, the government adopted an amendment to the law that allows citizens to vote only if they are in Armenia during the day of election. Taking into account that hundreds of thousands of Armenian citizens are living or working in foreign countries and many of them during the recent elections have voted for opposition parties, it is obvious that it is official policy to deprive these citizens of the right to vote. (For example, according to the head of Migration, Agency Gagik Eganyan, in Russia 500,000 Armenian citizens are now working. Most of them didn't have the possibility to be in Armenia on May 12, and actually were deprived of their votes.

References: Media reports and election monitoring Interview with Stephan Danielyan, chairman of Collaboration for Democracy Union (August 8, 2007, at his office)

Peer Review Comments: There are no discrimination-based restrictions. The author's comment mentions citizens of Armenia who live outside the country. This is a very serious problem, but it is a different issue.

Peer Review Comments: People with disabilities who are not able to move from home also are deprived of the opportunity to vote. Mobile polls have never been in practice in Armenia.

However, I would keep the scaling higher, as, according to the overall picture, the access to voting is mostly guaranteed.

15b: In practice, ballots are secret or equivalently protected.

Score:

100

Comments: In Armenia, violations of election procedures have always occured, particularly ballot counting.

References: Media reports (See Aravot daily newspaper, May 13 and 14, 2007, pp. 2-5; Haykakan Jamanak,daily newspaper, May 13 and 14, p.2 and p. 1) Election observation

Peer Review Comments: I was an OSCE election observer in Armenia in 1999 and 2003. Electoral fraud was widespread back then, and I don't believe that much has changed since then.

15c: In practice, elections are held according to a regular schedule.

Score:

100

Comments: Only once, on February 3, 1998, when the first president of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, had resigned, were there organized presidential elections. The government is also able to influence local government elections by expressing mistrust about the acting local community head.

References: Media reports on election Observations on elections process

Are citizens able to participate equally in the political process?

16a: In law, all citizens have a right to form political parties.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The Constitution of the Republic of Armenia The Law on Political parties www.parliament.am www.arlis.am

16b: In law, all citizens have a right to run for political office.

Score:

YES

Comments: In practice, we have come accross some cases when governmental structures ordered the Yerevan Municipality not to allow some opposition parties like the Armenian Democratic Party to rent offices in governmental buildings.

References: The Constitution of the Republic of Armenia Law on Political Parties www.parliament.am www.arlis.am

16c: In practice, all citizens are able to form political parties.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: While there is no guarantee of electoral success, political parties can form freely without opposition. <p>50 Score Criteria: Some barriers to formation are present, such as burdensome registration requirements that may not be fairly applied. Some parties\' political viewpoints may draw pressure from the government, such as surveillance or intimidation. Some political parties or organizations may have extra barriers to getting on a ballot. <p>0 Score Criteria: Some political parties are effectively barred from forming through some manner of official or unofficial pressure. This may include threats, arrest, or violence from competing parties or other groups.$

Comments:

References: The Constitution of the Republic of Armenia The Law on Political Parties of Armenia www. parliament.am

16d: In practice, all citizens can run for political office.

Score:

100

Comments: In practice there are very high costs for running a political campaign for a common citizen in Armenia. For example, before 2008 presidential elections in Armenia the candidates should pay average AMD 120.000 or $ 400 for one minute pre-electoral political advertisement on TV. See 168 Zham bi -weekly newspaper, Yerevan, November 20-21, 2007, p.1 These costs are unaffordable for many citizens and along with other organizational costs are much higher then for previous elections

References: Interview with Karen Zadoyan, president of the Armenian Young Lawyers Association (July 23, 2007, at his office), Media reporting

Peer Review Comments: I really have no idea where this low ranking comes from. One interview certainly does not suffice.

16e: In practice, an opposition party is represented in the legislature.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: The opposition party always has some influence on the proceedings of the legislature. The opposition party can introduce legislation or bring pending matters to a vote without the consent of the ruling party. <p>50 Score Criteria: The opposition party has influence on the proceeding of the legislature, but it is limited in scope. The opposition\'s ability to force votes or publicly debate certain topics may be limited. <p>0 Score Criteria: The opposition party has only token participation in the legislature\'s proceedings and cannot advance legislation or force a debate.$

Comments:

References: Interview with Karen Zadoyan, president of the Armenian Young Lawyers Association (July 23, 2007, at his office)

Peer Review Comments: I really don't understand the question. What do you really want to know?