The Armenian elections are being closely followed by the diaspora all over the world. The Armenian diaspora in Georgia is a case in point. The following from Arnold Stepanian, Chairman of the Public Movement Multinational Georgia, in Tbilisi.
The Armenian community in Georgia is closely following the ongoing electoral process in Armenia with great interest. The sympathies vary, reflecting trends in Armenia itself, with some supporting the political movement of Nikol Pashinyan, while there are others supporting the parties of the former presidents. Those supporting the second President, Robert Kocharyan, mainly represent a group of people seeking revenge over the Karabakh issue.
The most active part of the Armenian community mostly from the Samtskhe-Javakheti region and Tbilisi, and who have double citizenship have left for Armenia a few days ago in order to get engaged in a pre-election campaign in support of the candidates as well as to cast their votes.
We now have the second update on voter turn-out in today's Armenian parliamentary. At 14.00 (Yerevan), the number of votes cast was 695,626, amounting to 26.82% of those eligible. These figures were released by the Armenian Central Elections Commission.
For comparison, in the last elections in 2018, 636,055 voters, or 24.53% of the total number of voters, had voted around the same time.
Track the numbers here.
Line of voters in front of polling station in #Yerevan #armvote21 pic.twitter.com/UqcVjikxvM
— Gegham Vardanyan (@reporterarm) June 20, 2021
The lack of alternative voting methods remains an issue that has been raised by international experts and civil society.
Voting using a mobile box is provided for those recovering in a medical facility. In this case Precinct Elections Commission members can visit patients with a mobile ballot box. However, the list of names for voting by mobile ballot box must be submitted at the latest 10 days prior to elections day.
In the past, the use of the mobile box was the subject of many accusations of election fraud, and its limited use is welcomed by some.
A recent joint report by IFES-Armenia and Agate NGO, funded by USAID looks at accessibility issues in the Armenian elections.
Read the report here.
The number of covid-19 infections in Armenia has been steadily decreasing but it was still necessary to put some measures in place during election day. International organizations such as The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) have been working closely with the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Armenia, offering training and recommendations on how to mitigate pandemic-associated risks.
The Ministry of Health in Armenia has developed a set of hygiene protocols for the purpose of the elections. Yet there are some legal difficulties when it comes to enforcing the face mask rules in polling stations. It is not clear if polling station staff can turn voters away if the voter refused to comply with the health rules. The Armenian constitution says that any changes to core rights such as the right to vote, can only be done through laws passed by Parliament and not by regulations issued by governmental institutions like the CEC or the Ministry of Health.
See the recommendations from IFES here.
Situation in Yerevan and in the regions is relatively calm. Benyamin Poghosyan, a regular contributor to the commonspace.eu website has sent us this update from Yerevan
Armenia elects a new parliament today. Voting in 2008 electoral precincts opened at 8 AM, and voting continues until 8 PM. According to the Central Electoral Commission, 12.2 percent of population voted as of 11 AM. During the previous parliamentary elections, which took place in December 2018, 7.76 percent of voters participated in the elections as of 11 AM. Incumbent Prime Minister Pashinyan and the second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan have already voted.
In the night before the elections thousands of anti-Kocharyan leaflets were distributed in Yerevan streets. Armenia Alliance led by Kocharyan made a special statement calling police to find the perpetuators within several hours; otherwise it would hold the government responsible. Alliance also stated that representatives of its electoral headquarters are being summoned by the police based on false accusations filed against them by the supporters of the incumbent Prime Minister.
During the morning hours there were a few reports of irregularities published on opposition social media channels. They argue that in some precincts outside Yerevan, officers convince soldiers to vote for the “Civic Contract” party led by the incumbent Prime Minister Pashinyan. However, these reports have not been independently verified yet. In general, as of 1 PM Yerevan time, situation is relatively calm in both Yerevan and regions.