US ambassador calls for fair and credible election (video)

Ahead of the May 6 parliamentary election, US Ambassador to Armenia John Haffern has delivered a new address, calling on the Armenian authorities, political parties and civil society organizations to hold free, fair and credible polls.

“The quality of Armenia’s elections is obviously important to the Armenian people and to Armenia’s future, but it’s also important to Armenia’s bilateral relations with the United States and other western partners. That’s why, we are interested in observing Armenia’s elections to inform ourselves about the quality of those elections and to inform our conversations with our government counterparts, with all the political parties, with civil society and the media. We also use those assessments to better target our electoral assistance to make sure that that assistance is going to the best possible use,” the diplomat said.

He then addressed the mayoral election in the town of Hrazdan, noting that political competition and the use of the amended Electoral Code were important in ensuring democracy and fair and credible processes and combating what he called the phantom voter problem.

The ambassador noted however that free, fair and credible elections however require more than one smooth election day.

“In the run-up to the elections, there needs to be a level plain field for all political parties, which includes access to the media. Also, there shouldn’t be any misuse of administrative resources and certainly no vote buy. Government and law enforcement has a responsibility to follow up on any allegations of electoral violations that they hear. Voters have responsibilities too. The first responsibility, of course, is the voter conscience,” he said, calling upon the population to report to the authorities any violations that they observe in the pre-election period or the election day.

“Elections require public faith in the electoral process. We are pleased to see that a number of organizations, government agencies and the legislature are taking public awareness campaigns to build public trust in the upcoming elections,” the diplomat added.