Thursday, March 9 2023 14:35

ArmInfo. Armenia took 54th place in the Freedom in the World 2022 ranking of the American research organization Freedom House, thus placing on the list of partially free countries.

At the same time, Armenia worsened its performance in the ranking by  one point.

At the same time, Armenia ranked 74th in the Internet freedom rating,  becoming one of the countries with a free internet. Political rights  in Armenia are rated at 23 points out of a possible 40, and civil  liberties at 31 out of 60.

Regarding Armenia, the report notes in part: "The new government has  pledged to deal with long-standing problems including systemic  corruption, opaque policymaking, a flawed electoral system, and weak  rule of law. The country continues to be seriously affected by the  2020 conflict with Azerbaijan, which saw several months of fighting  over control of the territory of Nagorno- Karabakh".

Regarding the key events in the country in 2022, the Organization  noted: "In February, the Armenian military demanded the resignation  of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan following the dismissal of the  country's top military officer, leading to widespread antigovernment  protests. Pashinyan initially refused to resign, and accused the army  of attempting a coup, before resigning in April to trigger snap  elections.

Snap parliamentary elections were held in June, following a months-  long political crisis sparked by the defeat of Armenian forces in the  2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Pashinyan remained in his post as  prime minister when his Civil Contract Party (KP) won a parliamentary  majority; two new electoral blocs, both under the leadership of  former presidents, filled the remaining parliamentary seats.

In May, Azerbaijani forces advanced across the border into Armenia,  reigniting the conflict and creating serious security concerns in the  border regions. In November, large-scale hostilities broke out along  the border, resulting in more than a dozen casualties from both  sides, and the capture of 32 Armenian soldiers."

Regarding the political rights of the country, especially the  electoral process, they noted: "In June 2021, Pashinyan's Civil  Contract Party won a majority of seats in the snap elections,  allowing him to retain his position as prime minister. Though  Pashinyan's win was contested by the opposition, the Constitutional  Court upheld the election results, and international observers  considered the elections to be free and fair.  Were the current  national legislative representatives elected through free and fair  elections? The National Assembly consists of a minimum of 101 members  elected for five-year terms under a newly adopted closed list  proportional representation system, simplifying the previous two-tier  proportional representation system. Up to four additional seats are  reserved for ethnic minority representatives, and further seats can  be added to ensure that opposition parties hold at least 30 percent  of the seats.  In April 2021, Pashinyan resigned as prime minister,  in order to trigger snap parliamentary elections that June. Three  parties gained seats in the June parliamentary elections, with  Pashinyan's Civil Contract Party winning a stable majority of 71  seats with 53.9 percent of the vote. The new Armenia Alliance, lead  by former president Robert Kocharyan, gained 29 seats with 21.1  percent of the vote. Another new bloc, the I Have Honor Alliance, was  founded by former president Serzh Sargsyan, and gained 7 seats in the  parliament after receiving 5.2 percent of the vote. Though party  alliances are required to meet a 7 percent electoral threshold, the  threshold was waived for Sargsyan's alliance, as Armenian law  mandates that legislature must be composed of no fewer than three  parties.  Local and international observers deemed the elections to  be competitive, well organized, and fairly administered."

The report notes that: "Relationships between politicians, public  servants, and businesspeople have historically influenced policy and  contributed to selective application of the law. High-level  government officials are rarely investigated despite clear evidence  of improper uses of their office. Though the government attempted to  investigate past wrongdoings and fortify anticorruption mechanisms  after the revolution, those measures were significantly hindered by  security challenges following the 2020 war.  In November 2022, the  new Anti-Corruption Court and the Anti-Corruption Chamber of the  Court of Cassation went into effect after legislation created the two  bodies in April 2021. Though authorities have initiated high-profile  corruption investigations, no charges have been brought forward. In  August 2022, prosecutors initiated lawsuits to recover stolen assets  from allegedly corrupt former officials from the prerevolution  regime. In November, Mnatsakan Martirosyan's election as an  Anti-Corruption Court judge sparked controversy, as several of his  rulings in politically charged cases had been overturned by the  European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)."

It is also noted that: "In 2021, authorities imposed several new  restrictions on media freedom, including limiting the free movement  of journalists in the parliament and in parts of the Syunik region.  In July of that year, the parliament criminalized the act of  directing serious insults (defamation) toward officials and public  figures. After significant outcry from journalists' associations and  human rights organizations raising concerns that the law could be  easily abused, the law was removed from the criminal code in July  2022.  The Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression (CPFE), a local  nongovernmental organization (NGO), recorded that 15 journalists had  experienced physical violence between January and September 2022."  They note that: "Although the constitution protects academic freedom,  administrative and accreditation processes remain open to political  influence.  There is some self-censorship among academics on  politically sensitive subjects.  In March 2021, the parliament issued  an executive order allowing the government to appoint most members of  the boards of trustees for three of the country's leading state  universities, which enables the authorities to exercise more control  over the universities' key decisions, including the election of  university rectors.  In August 2022, Yerevan State University student  Taron Manukyan, son of opposition member of Parliament Gegham  Manukyan who had been arrested for assault, was expelled from the  university for failing to take in-person exams.  Gegham Manukyan  claimed authorities had stepped in to prevent his son from sitting  for his online or at the place he is detained, as other people in  prison had been able to do so."

Freedom in the World reports assess the level of political rights and  civil liberties in a given geographical area, regardless of whether  they are affected by the state, nonstate actors, or foreign powers.  The 2023 edition covers developments in 195 countries and 15  territories from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022.  The numerical  scores and status listed above do not reflect conditions in  Nagorno-Karabakh, which is examined in a separate report.  In the  ranking, 100 points are given to the most free countries, 1 - to the  most not free.