The EU has published the “Implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy 2013 – Annual Progress Report”, which contains estimates about the 2013 elections, violence against civil society activists, and ill-treatment of conscripts. With regard to these estimates, Aravot.am talked to RPA MP Margarit Yesayan. The report states that the presidential elections held on February 18, 2013 recorded serious problems with regard to voting process and counting the votes, and there was an anxiety about the fairness of the election process. “Though progress is recorded in the election process, anyway the violations continue. At the same time, the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission has noted the lack of impartiality by the state government, abuse of administrative resources and cases on exerting pressure on voters. Civil society organizations have also noted about the fact of abuse of administrative resources, facts on distributing bribes, inaccuracies in the election lists and inaction of law enforcement representatives. With regard to voting and counting of votes, serious problems were registered and the integrity of the electoral process has become a subject of concern.” To our question of whether you agree with the estimates of the report, Margarit Yesayan said, “If you ask me about the report of an international structure, in which the elections held in this-or-that country are estimated to be absolutely flawless, I will immediately try to find the location of this country on the globe. To mean that there is no country, no state where absolutely perfect elections have been held, or ever will be held. Let’s agree that everything, of course, is understood in comparison. I do not argue, if we are trying to compare any election held in our country with the elections taking place, for example, in Belgium or France, we are far away retarded. But, on the other hand, let’s remember what happened after the 2008 election and immediately compare it with the 2013 elections, the differences are obvious, the progress is visible. With regard to the rallies, there is such an estimate in the report. “The Constitution of Armenia and the law define the freedom of rallies. However, in the 2013 reports, the number of records on violence against political activists and human rights, infringements against peaceful demonstrators, and excessive pressures has been increased. The human rights defender of Armenia noted the violations committed by the police, however, no violator has been brought to responsibility by the court. During the presidential election campaign, it was reported that local authorities do not allow the civil servants visit the opposition rallies, at the same time promoting their participation in the pro-government rallies.” Margarit Yesayan disagreed, “In reality, a different thing happened last year, compared to previous years, the activeness of peaceful demonstrations, event carried out by civil society and activists has been grown. Now, it is more than ever that there is a freedom of expression and rallies in our country, and if some figures are a bit higher, it is also because of what I mentioned. Of course, there are also tasks to do here, but we should never agree that our country and we are viewed as experimental rabbits and pointing at us every time. Democracy in a country is not a manna fallen from the sky. The counties and states have acquired it, it has been reached due to hard and diligent work over many years. Yes, we still have a way to go, there is a process, and we are going and will reach a logical and democratic coast.”
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
