Civil Society:
ARMENIA: OPPOSITION BLASTS GOVERNING PARTY OVER ALLEGED CAMPAIGN IRREGULARITIES
Marianna Grigoryan: 5/03/07

With Armenia’s parliamentary vote just over a week away, opposition parties are complaining that pro-government parties and local government officials have created “an atmosphere of fear.” The governing Republican Party of Armenia is dismissive of the opposition allegation, while the Central Election Commission states that it is doing its best to address complaint.

Problems cited by opposition activists range from voter intimidation and vandalism of campaign posters to difficulties in finding space to hold meetings with supporters. “Prior to our meetings, people are ‘warned’ by the police and national security service agents not to attend,” claimed Artak Zeynalian, a member of the political council of the hardcore opposition Hanrapetutiun (Republic) Party. “People are intimidated and warned that the meetings will be recorded on video, and there will be retribution for attending them.”

A resident of Kapan, a town in Armenia’s mountainous southeastern Syunik Region, echoed that statement. “I want to participate in meetings very much to see what the opposition representatives say, but I can’t,” said the resident, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Our boss has told us all that if he learned that any of us participated in such meetings, we would not have our jobs.”

There have been numerous reports of alleged irregularities in the Syunik region and elsewhere. Outspoken opposition leader Manuk Gasparian, head of the Democratic Way Party, charges that the heavy-handed tactics have turned region residents, whom he termed “the eagles of Syunik,” into “[scared] birds.”

“There were many cases when people in rural areas secretly took our booklets, expressed their support, but said they wouldn’t turn up for a meeting because they were afraid,” Gasparian said. “In other cases, we would go to a meeting, and by law the village head must inform the constituency about the planned meeting, but he had told people that no meeting would be held.”

The governor of Syunik, Surik Khachatrian, a member of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, has stated that he has had nothing to do with supposed obstructionist campaign tactics.

One human rights organization representative expressed unease over the current campaign atmosphere, calling the situation far from “an equal and fair pre-election struggle.”

The Helsinki Citizens Assembly states that it has detected instances of campaign-related intimidation in the northern Armenian towns of Stepanavan, Spitak, Alaverdi, Vanadzor and Tashir. “There is pressure, and it mainly comes from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia,” charged Artur Sakunts, chairman of the Vanadzor branch of the Helsinki Citizens Assembly. “Nearly all employers [and] state officials are affiliated with the Republicans and they dictate the rules; that is to say, putting pressure on their employees.”

Article 18 of the Election Code stipulates that “state bodies” must ensure the right to assembly, including providing parties and candidates with “halls and other premises, upon the request of electoral commissions.” Opposition activists contend that authorities have manipulated the regulations, demanding “rent” money in exchange for assigning a meeting space, engineering sudden electricity cuts during opposition events, and refusing to grant permission for outdoor political rallies (often because of pre-scheduled concerts).

One village head in a region north of Yerevan appeared to admit the existence of a coordinated effort to hamper opposition campaign activities. “I have been warned separately by the Prosperous Armenia Party and the Republican Party that I must ensure a [landslide] vote in their favor,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

At Republican Party headquarters, though, officials strongly reject the notion that their party is resorting to such tactics. “There is no such thing,” Republican Party political council and parliamentary faction member Armen Ashotian said when asked to respond to the village head’s comments. “The Republican Party does not put any pressure on anyone and comments like these are the result of fantasizing.”

“Certain opposition forces use imaginary obstacles to explain their lack of political competitiveness,” Ashotian continued. “If people do not turn out for meetings, then they don’t have much trust and interest in that party. If a party lacks intellectual, human and program resources, it tries to blame its failure on authorities.”

A Prosperous Armenia Party official similarly dismissed such reports.

By law, the Central Election Commission must address a complaint about campaign rallies within five days of their receipt. Spokesperson Tsovinar Khachatrian states that the CEC has received “several” complaints from parties and candidates, but notes that difficulties exist for addressing all such instances. “Sometimes parties do not complain to us, but, for instance, to the city government or to another institution,” Khachatrian said, who maintains that the CEC doesn’t favor any single party. “We do not divide parties between opposition and pro-government. They are all the same for us,” she said.

Torn opposition campaign posters throughout northern Armenian towns serve as another sign of obstructionist activity, suggested Sakunts, the Helsinki Citizens Assembly representative. “If new posters are put up, they are again torn down within a day. [It] is not accidental, given the fact that no such things happen to the posters of pro-government [parties and candidates].”

Opposition members often say that they are often not given space for posting ads. The latest interim report of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) cites this problem in Yerevan, where certain parties have been unable to buy billboard space since it is “all sold out.”

Much of the space, the report said, is occupied by a “highly visible” Defense Ministry campaign for the 15th anniversary of the Armenian army, which is expected to last until “at least” the May 9 Victory Day holiday, three days before the election. OSCE/ODIHR Media Analyst Ivan Godarsky told EurasiaNet that “observations are continuing” about difficulties for opposition campaigning. Concerns will be reflected in a statement to be released immediately after the May 12 vote, he said, as well as in the final report due six to eight weeks after the elections.

Editor’s Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a reporter for the independent online weekly ArmeniaNow in Yerevan.