Armenian law –enforcement agencies respond promptly to all reports on election breaches – deputy speaker
02.04.2017,
18:25
Armenian law- enforcement agencies react promptly to all incoming reports on violations during the voting in the parliamentary elections, deputy parliament speaker Eduard Sharmazanov from the governing Republican Party of Armenia, told a news briefing today.
YEREVAN, April 2. /ARKA/. Armenian law- enforcement agencies react promptly to all incoming reports on violations during the voting in the parliamentary elections, deputy parliament speaker Eduard Sharmazanov from the governing Republican Party of Armenia, told a news briefing today.
"There have not been and will not be any reports that the Police, the Central Election Commission (CEC) or the prosecutor’s office would not immediately respond to," he said. According to Sharmazanov, apart from grounded reports, there are also false ones.
"These (false) reports have one goal - to cast a shadow on the electoral process, and when law enforcement agencies respond, it turns out that these reports are not grounded by exact facts or information," Sharmazanov added.
Sharmazanov assured that the elections are currently proceeding in line with all democratic norms, which, according to him, is confirmed also by representatives of international observation missions.
"Representatives of international observation missions, with whom I am in touch, assert that the modified election law allows avoiding those violations and problems that previously had a negative impact on the electoral processes," he said.
A total of five parties and four electoral blocs are running in Sunday's vote, with at least 101 parliamentary seats up for grabs under a proportional representation system. A party needs to clear a five-percent threshold to be represented in parliament, while an electoral bloc made up of several parties needs to garner at least seven percent of the vote.
These are the first polls that come after constitutional amendments initiated by president Serzh Sargsyan in 2015. The changes were passed after a referendum. The amendments will shift the country away from semi-presidential form of government to a parliamentary form of government after Sargsyan’s second and final term ends in 2018. -0-
"There have not been and will not be any reports that the Police, the Central Election Commission (CEC) or the prosecutor’s office would not immediately respond to," he said. According to Sharmazanov, apart from grounded reports, there are also false ones.
"These (false) reports have one goal - to cast a shadow on the electoral process, and when law enforcement agencies respond, it turns out that these reports are not grounded by exact facts or information," Sharmazanov added.
Sharmazanov assured that the elections are currently proceeding in line with all democratic norms, which, according to him, is confirmed also by representatives of international observation missions.
"Representatives of international observation missions, with whom I am in touch, assert that the modified election law allows avoiding those violations and problems that previously had a negative impact on the electoral processes," he said.
A total of five parties and four electoral blocs are running in Sunday's vote, with at least 101 parliamentary seats up for grabs under a proportional representation system. A party needs to clear a five-percent threshold to be represented in parliament, while an electoral bloc made up of several parties needs to garner at least seven percent of the vote.
These are the first polls that come after constitutional amendments initiated by president Serzh Sargsyan in 2015. The changes were passed after a referendum. The amendments will shift the country away from semi-presidential form of government to a parliamentary form of government after Sargsyan’s second and final term ends in 2018. -0-
