A “Wonderful” Day at Armenian Polling Station Masks Underlying Trouble

Armenia's parliamentary elections drew fewer and milder reports of election irregularities than the disputed victory of President Robert Kocharian did in early March. Nonetheless, observers encountered irregularities, including intimidation and falsification of voting results. International observers also made special mention of the low turnout, which they said reflected a "lack of confidence" in Armenia's democratic institutions.

Low turnout kept a day's voting relatively uneventful in the town of Echmiadzin, where there were no reports of intimidation or accusations of ballot-stuffing. However, structural problems were apparent in Echmiadzin, which is located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southwest of Yerevan. Low turnout was the most obvious.

A preliminary assessment by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) noted that many election districts experienced shortcomings that included: "non-uniformity and lack of appropriate communication between institutions in the compilation of voter lists;" and the "compromised secrecy of the vote, in particular of conscripts."

The OSCE assessment said the low turnout was a product of "disillusionment" with the political process. Giovanni Kessler, who headed the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly delegation, suggested the low turnout was "a clear indication of the lack of voter confidence in the electoral process and political institutions in the country." In an OSCE statement, he declared: "Enhancing such confidence is the major challenge to the political leadership in Armenia."

At Echmiadzin's polling station No. 26/0700, which serves on weekdays as the town's main school, 1,818 voters were eligible to cast ballots. By 10:15 am, a mere 20 had exercised their rights. While this low turnout helped keep things orderly, it also threatened the validity of a separate vote on a series of constitutional amendments. The referendum, which occurred the same day as the parliamentary elections, required a voter turnout of at least 50 percent for the results to be valid. [For background, see the Eurasia Insight archives.]

During the late morning, the head of the polling station, Ruben Simonian, was confident that enough people would vote to validate the referendum. "There are never fewer than 900-1,000 people who come to vote at our station," he said. "After five it will become busier."

Simonian also pointed out that the sparse voting had been calm and upfront. Two observers nearby from the International Foundation for Election Systems www.ifes.org agreed. The polling station boasted two transparent voting boxes – one for the parliamentary election and another for the referendum- donated by the OSCE. Observers from all political parties were present to monitor the vote. And they, although seemingly bored in the absence of a buffet or voters, were also happy. "It's wonderful to see how calm everything is compared with the presidential elections," said one. "It's good to know that this is also possible in Armenia."

An observer for Prime Minister Andranik Markarian's Republican Party, which won under dubious circumstances, accused her rivals of foul play. "Stepan Demirchian's Artarutiun [Justice] bloc doesn't want their supporters to vote," she whispered in order not to let the Justice bloc's observer hear her. [For background on Demirchian, see the Eurasia Insight archive.]

At Echmiadzin, overt fraud seemed absent. Nobody showed up bearing several passports and proposing to vote for the whole family. The IFES observers left Echmiadzin's station by early afternoon, at a point when roughly 250 people had cast their ballots. "It's not much but we'll see how it goes," said Simonian.

Groups of ten, twenty, thirty soldiers appeared every so often, approaching or leaving the polling station, led by a non-commissioned officer. A Republican Party observer said soldiers "are not free to choose what they want." The OSCE assessment concurred, suggesting military personnel often faced pressure to vote for a particular candidate.

Meanwhile, many voters despaired of the process. One potential voter, Grigor, a taxi driver, said he might vote after work. But he didn't expect the election to be fair. "It's all about money," he argued. "Who pays the most gets the most votes."

Some election observers agreed. Deputy station chief Karlen Khachatrian, who supported Artashes Geghamian's National Unity opposition party, branded the vote an expensive "show" complete with a script. "The authorities will change the outcome," he said confidently. "Armenia isn't up to democracy; it needs socialism."

When the polls closed at 8 pm, only 580 people had come to vote – less than a third of the overall number of eligible voters. It had indeed become busier after five, but not busy enough to fulfill Simonian's promise. The referendum questions did not attain a quorum of voters. But still, all party observers present were "very happy" that the process had gone so smoothly.

After polls closed, workers sealed ballot boxes and shut the schoolhouse doors. The unused voting cards were destroyed, prompting a protest from the Communist Party observer that officials were selectively throwing away unused cards. Other tired observers and election officials told her to shut up; she backed down and the head of the station started to count votes while the observers looked on, eating kebab. No police were inside the station during the process. Vote counting ended shortly before midnight without any notable disagreement.