Oppositional Armenian National Congress prepares election cod changes
16.10.2012,
18:41
A senior member of the oppositional Armenian National Congress (HAK) unveiled today for journalists a set of draft amendments to the Electoral Code of Armenia, which he said are designed by the umbrella coalition of some 18 parties to eliminate an election fraud known as "carousel."
YEREVAN, October 16. / ARKA /. A senior member of the oppositional Armenian National Congress (HAK) unveiled today for journalists a set of draft amendments to the Electoral Code of Armenia, which he said are designed by the umbrella coalition of some 18 parties to eliminate an election fraud known as "carousel."
Speaking at a news conference Levon Zurabian, head of HAK parliamentary faction, repeated the accusations that the authorities used extensively “carousel’ in May 6 parliamentary elections.
‘Carousel" is a fraud method when a bribed voter is given a ballot marked in favor of the pro-government candidate to drop it the ballot box instead of the clean one which must be given to the customer which marks it again and gives to another bribed voter.
"The fact is that what is known as elections does not exist in Armenia: there is no mechanism of elections", he argued. Zurabian said the core of the HAK proposed amendments is that the main election document is not the ballot, but the envelope, which will help avoid carousel. He said another proposed change says that conscripts have to participate in elections not by the lists drawn up in the army, but by the lists of their residence.
"This means that only those servicemen who will be on vacation at the time of election will be able to participate in the vote," he said. He denied allegation that this will limit the voting rights of servicemen.
Other changes calls for shifting to one hundred proportional (by party lists) elections, regular monitoring of the elections by surveillance cameras, and inking voters’ fingers to avoid repeat election.
Zurabian said the full list of 22 proposed draft changes had been submitted to the National Assembly of Armenia.
"I do not see any reason why the National Assembly should decline the proposals ... If they are not endorsed it will mean that the authorities are not ready for fair elections ", he said. The next presidential elections in Armenia are scheduled for February 2013. -0-
