The European member of parliament who had arrived on observation mission in Armenia is surprised why during the counting process the electricity went off. The delegates of the Parliamentary Assembly of the European Council (PACE) who conducted an observation mission in Armenia during the parliamentary elections were not particularly impressed by the elections held in Armenia.
In Strasbourg, some of the members of the delegation spoke of the violations recorded by them during the interview to Aravot.am. Italian delegate Adele Gambaro noted that she has recorded manifold violations that she has not seen in other countries. She told: “In one of the polling stations the ballot-box was not closed well. From the first glance it seemed that it was closed but in reality, it was not. We immediately alerted and the ballot-box was closed headed by the leader of the polling station.” Ms. Gambaro informed that except for Yerevan they have been also in the regions of the Republic of Armenia, have talked to the residents: “There was a city, I do not remember the same now where the mayor interfered with the electoral processes. This is inadmissible to us.”
According to Italian delegate’s opinion, the electoral process in Armenia has been complicated: “Before the core voting process, people were passing through a set of phases. This method does not justify itself, it lasts for hours, I have not seen such a thing in any country. Everything was so much blended that until 23:00 at night we got already tired.”
The PACE delegate mentioned that the electricity went off during the counting of the votes for about 15 minutes. Then, laughing, she asked: “I do not know whether this is a frequent thing for you.”
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For Ms. Gambaro the positive was the fact that a lot of women had participated in the elections: “The common citizens were rather seriously treating the elections. A lot of women were voting.”
We reminded Adele Gambaro that within the first part of the official announcement of the PACE observation mission it was stipulated that “in Armenia, the elections have been held by virtue of the preservation of human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Afterward, we asked why it appeared so that the opinion stated in the report and the reality represented by the observers do not coincide. Ms. Gambaro replied that the report depicts violations as well. Norwegian delegate Ingebjorg Godskesen told that they have had meetings with the populace, journalists and the representatives of civil society.
She noted that generally, they have conducted observations in the pre-election phase: “Basically all political forces attempted to form an impression as if they wanted to do something good for Armenia, to solve the issues existing in Armenia. However, our conversations with the common citizens showed that they not in all cases believed the political forces.”
Ms. Godskesen noted alike that they have received alerts on oppressions: “There have been oppressions present towards the citizens, journalists and the representatives of the civil society.”
Instead, Ms. Godskesen generally treats the RA residents well. Pursuant to her, in comparison with a lot of countries, Armenians were friendly and free willingly speaking of the things happening to them.
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
