The issue of voter registration lists has been topical in all elections; it is topical today too. In particular, before the previous – parliamentary – and this elections, oppositionists are bewildered why under the conditions of officially accepted emigration, the number of voters constantly increases. The official explanation is that the “newly-fledged” voters emerge due to citizens who have turned 18 and foreigners who have become citizens. The opposition is not satisfied; can the number of those “newly-fledged” exceed the number of emigrants? In that case, the government puts forward the following argument; no one can tell how many citizens there are in the country at the moment. I think that it is a false explanation; the state must know that, and moreover, the government institutions that need to know that know it to a certain degree of accuracy. The oppositionists say: “In that case, let’s make public the list of citizens who have voted.” “Oh no,” they exclaim. “We cannot do that; it is a violation of human rights, ask Venetians, they think so too.” So one can violate the rights of thousands of our citizens who are abroad – not only those who have emigrated, but also those who have gone on a business trip – not allowing them to vote, and to find out whether the given citizen has voted or not is a flagrant breach of his rights.
In a nutshell, there really are problems with the list of citizens and voters. It is a pity that the oppositionists raise these issues only before elections when there is no way of amending the Election Code, and when the possibilities at hand to check anything are limited. Both legislative and practical steps should be taken during the preceding 5 years, not in the last days. In that sense, both Arman Melikyan’s demands and the joint statement made by the three main opposition candidates yesterday, although appropriate, are basically premature.
But the joint statement of Bagratyan, Hayrikyan, and Hovhannisyan is a positive step in a different sense; it shows that they can agree with each other regardless of all their differences and contradictions. If they can come to an agreement on this “premature” issue, they, at least theoretically, can take joint steps. Let me mention two of such possibilities: a. not to make statements compromising each other; b. to try to exercise joint supervision over the election. In particular, the Heritage Party and the Armenian National Congress (ANC) are parliamentary forces and thus have members in the election commissions. Therefore, Raffi should mobilize his fellow party members, and Bagratyan should convince those members of the ANC that support him, in order that they join the common cause. Is it possible?
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
