The US National Democratic Institute office in Armenia has
criticized the 30th May parliamentary elections as being little
better than their flawed predecessors. It's preliminary report
highlighted incorrect electoral rolls, pressure on soldiers by
their officers, political manipulation in forming electoral
commissions, illegal voting by refugees, and a slow response by
the authorities to these abuses. It also reported a low turnout.

It did however praise the new Electoral Code and media
coverage as improvements. The following is the text of the
report by the Armenian news agency Noyan Tapan//
Yerevan, 1st June: "The parliamentary elections in Armenia
indicated that Armenia has again failed to secure
correspondence to international standards and to carry out the
obligations it had taken upon itself as the basis for holding
truely democratic elections." This opinion was pronounced by
observers of the National Democratic Institute on international
issues in a preliminary report about the results of the
parliamentary elections in Armenia, presented on 1st June.

The observers of the National Democratic Institute say
that the parliamentary elections in Armenia proved to be a
continuation of the 1995 parliamentary elections, as well as of
the 1996 and 1998 presidential elections. "The only difference
was that the methods and types of manipulation were different."
Among violations that generated serious anxiety, the
observers pointed to numerous inaccuracies in the electoral
rolls and so-called "political deals" in the period of forming
[ie appointing representatives of political parties to] the
election commissions. The observers also noted cases of
refugees voting illegally in the elections, as well as cases of
pressure by the commanding officers on military servicemen
during the polls.

In the opinion of the observers, "the obviously low number
of the voters who turned out at the elections compared with
previous elections testifies to the people's decreasing trust
in the electoral process".

However, the observers also pointed out progress in
comparison with the previous elections. In particular, the new
electoral legislation, under which the 1999 parliamentary
elections were held, had a positive difference from the old one

Furthermore, the wide representation of local observers in
the elections and free access for the mass media to report on
the election campaign and the voting process were noted.
The recommendations given by the observers of the National
Democratic Institute mainly regarded improving the legislative
field in the sphere of voting by military servicemen, the
formation of electoral commissions, and the timely and
appropriate reaction to irregularities in the voting process.
Noyan Tapan notes: The office of the National Institute
for Democracy, which is engaged in consolidating and developing
democracy all over the world, was opened in Armenia in 1995.

Source: Noyan Tapan news agency, Yerevan, in Russian 1500 gmt
02 Jun 99
BBC Mon TCU 020699 mm/ek