Armenia’s last presidential election, held on February 19, 2008, resulted in a series of protests in Yerevan’s Freedom Square from demonstrators who alleged the election, won by then-Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, was flawed. Police and state security units eventually dispersed the demonstrations by force. This response left a deep scar in Armenia’s psyche and made abundantly clear that the long-abiding issues with Armenia’s electoral code had to be resolved.
To that effect, this past November, IFES conducted a two-day symposium on election law reform in Armenia featuring detailed discussions which will positively impact legislation governing national parliamentary elections in May 2012 and will hopefully address some of the problems of the 2008 elections.
The symposium took place on November 22nd and 23rd at the Erebuni Plaza Hotel in central Yerevan. Over 150 representatives of the Armenian and international public affairs communities attended and participated in the Symposium, which was designed to address Armenia’s electoral code draft legislation and provide a regional and an international perspective to Armenia’s overall electoral development, with specific focus on election administration, dispute resolution, political and campaign finance, and fraud prevention.
The goal of the event was to create cooperation in discussions among Armenia’s electoral stakeholders. Participants included representatives of Armenian political parties with representation in the National Assembly as well as those who are not represented in parliament; representatives of nongovernmental organizations with an interest in electoral and democracy issues; the Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC); Members of Parliament and parliamentary staff; and, representatives of international organizations.
Three expert consultants from IFES delivered impactful and well-received thematic presentations and engaged in substantive discussions with the Armenian attendees. They included Dr. Magnus Ohman, a specialist on Political Finance; Jack Young, an expert on election dispute resolution; and Cameron Quinn, a specialist on election law and administration. In addition, topical comments were offered by IFES Chief of Party Michael Getto and Elections Specialist Aghassi Yesayan moderated the event. Other international specialists from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission also presented and engaged in discussions.
IFES, through funding provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), co-sponsored and co-organized the Symposium with the National Assembly of Armenia, the CEC, the OSCE, the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia and the Council of Europe.
The event received significant media attention, with over 20 local media outlets providing coverage. The news stories ranged from event overviews and highlights to analyses of event-related topics, including the CEC’s role in elections and complaint adjudication, voter lists, transparency, gender quotas, and electoral legislation.
It is anticipated that the Symposium will serve as a reference point for ongoing discussion on key electoral legislative and administrative issues prior to a final vote on adopting changes in the first quarter of 2011.
The event was part of IFES’s current agreement with USAID, called “Advancing Armenia’s Election Management and Democratic Culture,” which focuses on systemic improvements in election management and emphasizes renewed civic engagement and participation in the election and governance cycle.