Pre-Election Day findings – Akanates mission
Summary of Akanates press conference, video recording of press conference with English interpretation below: Campaigning and transparency of finances The Akanates observation mission, which includes EPDE member Transparency International Anticorruption Center, notes that party campaign spending during early election campaigning is insufficiently regulated by the Electoral Code and that parties’ reports on their spending […]
Roundtable summary: ‘Threats to Election Day – evaluation of election preparations and security concerns’
The European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE) hosted its fourth closed expert roundtable discussing issues that might pose a threat to the upcoming snap parliamentary elections. Immediate concerns include the post-war security situation, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the short term for organizing the elections. Despite these threats, Armenia is currently facing an important milestone in […]
Preliminary report snap parliamentary elections
The Akanates (Eyewitness) is a domestic, non-partisan observation initiative founded in 2018 by Transparency International Anticorruption Center, Journalists’ Club Asparez, “Restart” Scientific and Educational Foundation and Law Development and Protection Foundation. More about the network and their observation methodology here. In this preliminary report the Akanates observation mission observed preparations of CECs, TECs, PECs, generally […]
Roundtable summary: ‘Political party landscape and campaign messaging’
The European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE) hosted its third closed expert roundtable, during which leading Armenian political commentators and experts analyzed the main political actors in the current election campaign, their campaign messaging, and what their chances are in the upcoming elections. The election results are not easily predictable, while the election campaign is […]
Roundtable summary: ‘Electoral reform – the present state and future steps’
The European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE) hosted its second closed expert roundtable to discuss how the electoral reform process has gone so far, what the present state of electoral reform is, and what the future reform steps following the 20 June election might be. The recently adopted package of electoral reforms went through a […]
Roundtable summary: ‘Accessibility of Elections Under Pandemic Conditions’
In the run up to the 20 June early parliamentary election in Armenia, the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE) hosted a closed expert roundtable to discuss the accessibility of elections under the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as general issues of accessibility that existed even prior to the pandemic outbreak, including access for vulnerable […]
Policy Alert #8 – European Institutions ‘Broadly Welcome’ Armenia’s Proposed Electoral Reform
On April 21, 2020, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and OSCE/ODIHR published their Draft Joint Urgent Opinion on an electoral reform legislative package in Armenia that is expected to pass ahead of the announced early parliamentary election. The Joint Urgent Opinion understands the urgency of eliminating district seats, noting that it followed […]
European Institutions ‘Broadly Welcome’ Armenia’s Proposed Electoral Reform
On April 21, 2020, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and OSCE/ODIHR published their Draft Joint Urgent Opinion on an electoral reform legislative package that is expected to pass ahead of the announced early parliamentary election. It has been a busy Bill C-894 makes wide changes to the Electoral Code, as well […]
Policy Alert #7 – Armenian Electoral Code Amended to Remove District Seats
On April 1, a marathon parliamentary session removed district seats from Armenia’s Electoral Code. Eliminating district seats was the flagship policy in the electoral reform bill brought forward in October 2018 by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s first government. That bill failed to attract enough votes to pass, but now it has finally been accomplished. What […]
Momentous reform – no more district seats
On April 1, 2021, a marathon parliamentary session removed district seats from Armenia’s Electoral Code. Change doesn’t happen overnight… until it does. Eliminating district seats from Armenia’s Electoral Code was the flagship policy in the electoral reform bill brought forward in October 2018 by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s first government. That bill failed to […]