December 9 snap election ‘reflected Armenian voters' collective will’, say local observers  

The December 9 snap parliamentary election revealed an essential progress compared to previous nationwide polls, ruling out vote-buying, pressure and other forms electoral abuses, according to a team of local observers. 

The short- and long-term outcomes, compiled by the observation mission Witness, also highlight the free and peaceful conduct of the polls in virtually all the electoral precincts, Sona Ayvazyan, the director of Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center, told reporters on Monday. “The progress was really outstanding, as the citizens did not face any restraint in the form of electoral bribes or charity-making. Most said they did not even remember not being harassed in a pre-election period, being given guidance or facing pressure into voting for a specific candidate.”

Ayvazyan added, nonetheless, that they observed a few instances of misuse of administrative resources. “What troubled us was the rhetoric and hate language voiced in the pre-election period,” she said, adding that their short-term mission comprised 581 observers and 52 groups which headed to different electoral precincts monitor the voting.

“The confidentiality of voters was largely respected though in 21% of the cases, the process wasn’t absolutely smooth,” she said, highlighting several instances of collective family voting.

Ayvazyan said they also obtained evidence that the voting had been guided in some 6% of the cases.

Levon Barseghyan, another representative of the mission, highlighted the low voter turnout as a concern, agreeing at the same time that it did not absolutely affect the quality or legitimacy of the process.

He said that he feels sufficiently competent to state that the recent voting was not marred by electoral frauds or actions amounting to a criminal offense.  “And that allows us to state that the elections were conducted in an environment giving [voters] an absolute freedom to express their will, so they are sure to reflect the collective will of Armenian citizens,” he added.

Eleven political forces, including nine parties and two blocs, vied for seats in the National Assembly in Sunday's snap election. The Central Electoral Commission finalized the preliminary vote count on Monday afternoon, reporting a record-breaking 70.44% success for acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's My Step bloc.