No. 18-Ն decision on journalists’ certification procedure in the CEC made by the Central Electoral Commission of theRepublic of Armenia on January 31, 2012, raised concerns in the journalistic community. The matter is Article 9 and 11 of the decision, which stipulate that a journalist’s certification is denied (Article 9) and/or suspended (Article 11), if the journalist “has been found incapable or partially capable by the court,” if “he/she has been convicted of a deliberate crime and his/her conviction has not been served or expunged,” if “he/she has spread such information about the activities of electoral commissions (officials) that don’t correspond to the reality, which has been reasserted by the court’s decision.”
Tigran Mukuchyan, the chairman of the CEC, doesn’t rule out that this procedure may be revised. “It is a bit unusual for me that this decision has grabbed so much attention, because the judgments that have been mentioned in that decision might be novel for some people, but they are not new. All those regulations were in the decision made in 2004, which was in force till 2011, but there have been no such reaction ever. Moreover, there has been no violation of a journalist’s right by the provisions stipulated and mentioned, because those provisions have never been enforced and no infringement of a right of anyone has taken place under those provisions; there is no case of denial in regard to the mentioned stipulations,” Tigran Mukuchyan stated during a conversation with journalists.
The CEC chairman reminded once again that the certification was held exceptionally for participating in the CEC meetings and during the election, journalists were free to enter electoral districts and polling stations and no right of theirs could be infringed given their being or not being certified in the CEC.
“A journalist just have to go to a polling station and show his/her press card and it is sufficient to enter the polling station and fully exercise his/her journalistic duties,” claimed the CEC chairman.
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He also added that the CEC were aware of the concerns raised in the press concerning this issue, “We had a discussion this morning and we will discuss the concerns raised once again, anyway. I think that the CEC will express its definite approach to the issue in the short run, in order that those concerns disappeared completely, although the CEC decision has never had any hidden agenda.”
Naira MAMIKONYAN
