Policy Alert #9 – Armenian Local Elections Rescheduled And Expanded Due To Municipal Amalgamations
Armenia is holding its most important local (city council) elections in recent years this autumn, as the proportional party list system is expanding at the municipal level. A delayed municipal amalgamation process has pushed back dates but is now complete. The revised local election dates for 2021 are October 17, November 14 and December 5.
Media restrictions in the parliament undermine its transparency and accountability
Photo credit: Marcin Konsek The opening session of the National Assembly of the 8th convocation convened on 2 August was accompanied with strict restrictions to the movement of media representatives in the parliament. Journalists and cameramen were not allowed into the new parliamentary building where sessions of the standing commissions are convened, nor enter […]
Reflections on the elections and future steps for reforms
During a public discussion hosted by the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE), Armenian election observers and experts reflected on the most important lessons learned from the early parliamentary election, what these could mean for upcoming local elections in the autumn, and what the future steps are for the electoral reform process and how the […]
Independent observer alliance preliminary statement
The “Independent Observer” alliance carried out an observation mission with a team of about 700 people on the voting day of the snap parliamentary elections in the Republic of Armenia. According to the preliminary results of the elections, three political forces have entered the parliament, namely, the Civil Contract Party, the “Armenia” and “I Have […]
Roundtable summary: Post-Election Day – conclusions and recommendations
The European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE) hosted a post-election roundtable during which heads of domestic and international election observation missions, as well as international experts and foreign dignitaries discussed conclusions from their election monitoring and formulated recommendations for the future. These elections were notable not just for Armenia, but also in an international context. […]
Akanates preliminary report and PVT result
The Akanates observation mission conducted both long-term and short-term observation of the June 20, 2021 early parliamentary election in Armenia. The mission deployed 580 observers to a sample of 300 polling stations across the entire territory of Armenia. In addition, 22 mobile observer teams visited another 150 polling stations outside of the sample, and 33 […]
Preliminary report and PVT result
According to the Akanates observation mission, election day saw engaged and active participation from citizens. The process was fundamentally organized, smooth, and without serious violations. Nevertheless, a number of polling stations had a palpable level of tension, mostly due to the presence of unauthorized persons inside the polling station. Although violations were noted by representatives […]
Peaceful voting day, but main opposition alliance significantly involved in electoral violations
Summary of Akanates press conference, video recording of press conference with English interpretation below: The Akanates observation mission stated that the voting process was peaceful and well organized with no serious violations that would impact the election results. Although the pre-election campaign was quite fierce, these elections were generally in the hands of Armenian citizens. […]
Democratic elections with high voter engagement in reporting violations
Summary of the Independent Observer alliance press conference, video recording of press conference with English interpretation below: The ‘Independent Observer’ alliance concluded that the election was democratic and that violations were not of a significant nature. The voter turnout of more than 49% was similar to the 2018 elections. These elections were unique in that voters were […]
Misuse of administrative resources on all sides and tense environment affects public discourse
Summary of the Independent Observer alliance press conference, video recording of press conference with English interpretation below: The Independent Observer alliance, to which EPDE member Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor belongs, reported that these elections are unique in that misuse of administrative resources was prevalent not only among the ruling party, but also among the opposition. In […]