The Central Election Commission of Armenia presented data on voter turnout and incidents during the local self-government elections

ArmInfo. The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Armenia presented data on voter turnout and incidents in the local government elections in 21 communities across the country on October 25.

According to the CEC press service, as of 8:00 PM on October 25, the results of the local elections were as follows: turnout in the Artashat community of the Ararat region was 40.09%. In the Araks community of the Armavir region, turnout was 52.33%, and in the Armavir community, 36.73%. In the Aragatsotn region, turnout in the Shamiram community was 46.20%.

In the Gegharkunik region, turnout in the Gavar community was 39.03%, in the Martuni community - 40.12%, and in the Vardenis community - 41.33%. In the Lori region, the Fioletovo community had the lowest turnout of 25.39%, while in the Stepanavan community it was 68.83%.

In the Kotayk region, 61.78% of eligible voters participated in the elections in the Tsaghkadzor community, 47.35% in the Hrazdan community, and 37.19% in the Garni community.

In the Shirak region, the turnout in the Akhuryan community was 47.06%, and in the Artik community 57.42%. In the Syunik region, the turnout was 54.54% in the Goris community, and 57.97% in the Meghri community. In the Vayots Dzor region, the turnout was 62.56% in the Yeghegnadzor community, 52.39% in the Vayk community, and 53.26% in the Jermuk community. In the Tavush region, the turnout was 39.32% in the Dilijan community, and 40.88% in the Ijevan community."

The department further reported that on the day of the local government elections, the Situation Analysis Center of the Central Election Commission of Armenia promptly responded to 42 situations. The CEC explained that the prompt response was carried out based on situations received through publications on social media, the media, and phone calls. It is noted that the Central Election Commission received five applications on election day, and the 21st Territorial Electoral Commission received one application out of 16 territorial electoral commissions by 8:00 PM.

In turn, the public organization "Independent Observer" presented its data and comments on the elections to the local self-government bodies. It is specified that the organization monitored the vote count at approximately 80 polling stations, as well as the tabulation of vote results at all 15 district electoral commissions overseeing these elections. "As of 7:30 PM, observers had visited 509 of 517 polling stations, most of them two or three times. Representatives of more than one party, representing the interests of competing political forces, were present at almost all the visited polling stations. The exception was four communities, where only the Civil Contract party was nominated, noted the Independent Observer.

The organization emphasized that although observers generally rated the preparedness and discipline of election commission members positively throughout the day, relatively more violations were recorded at polling stations with poor discipline. "Three appeals were prepared to the Central Election Commission regarding the quality of stamps, election day campaigning, and the abuse of administrative resources. Thirteen calls were made to district election commissions to promptly resolve any issues that arose. Ten reports of crimes related to violations of voting secrecy were filed. Three reports of crimes related to proxy voting were filed, and one report of a crime related to obstruction of observer rights was filed. One appeal was submitted to the Internal Security and Anti-Corruption Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia with a request to initiate an internal investigation into the actions of a police officer," the organization reported.

According to the source, a total of 209 violations were recorded at 135 polling stations, with the following breakdown: procedural violations - 28.17%, violations of the secrecy of the ballot - 23.24%, violations of the right to attend or abuse of power - 21.13%, illegal control over voters - 8.45%, campaigning - 7.75%, conflict situations - 7.75%, problems related to voter lists - 2.11%, and election fraud - 1.41%.

It is noted that in 65% of cases, electoral commissions rectified the violations. However, it is noted that in some cases, the violations not only were not rectified but also could not be rectified after the fact. According to the source, this concerns cases of referral of voters, open voting, and violation of observers' rights. "In particular, in Yeghegnadzor, at polling station 36/13, an observer recorded the simultaneous presence of three proxies from the same party. He filmed the incident, after which the proxies began arguing with him. The commission chairperson pushed the camera and attempted to block the filming. The observer who recorded the violation was called a provocateur, and attempts were made to prevent him from recording his opinion in the registration log. The mission filed a crime report regarding this incident. At polling stations 34/15 and 12/32, the person assisting the voter immediately voted in their place. "That is, the voter himself didn't even approach the voting booth," the organization explained.

It is further reported that at polling station 35/05 in Akhuryan, one of the commission members told a voter standing at the ballot box: "Choose whatever you want. Choose number 14, and throw that one away." It is added that a similar incident was also recorded in the village of Geghamasar in the Vardenis community. A proxy of the Civil Contract party, under the pretext of "explaining the voting procedure," urged several voters to "choose number 14 and throw away the 'against' ballot." A crime report was also filed for this incident.

According to the source, cases of more than one proxy being present at a single polling station have been observed on multiple occasions. For example, as the organization reported, at polling stations 12/31, 21/25, and 25/16, proxies were either inside the polling stations or nearby. "There were also cases of voters being directed by proxies of the Civil Contract party at polling stations 21/77, 21/41, 12/04, and 32/05. For example, a commission member directed voters in favor of the Civil Contract party, saying, 'Vote for Civil Contract, put the rest aside,'" the organization noted.

Summing up, the Independent Observer noted that while voting was generally calm, instances of voters being directed toward a particular voting option or the potential for such influence raise concern. "It is necessary to assess how they affected the results, and also note that most of the violations involved members of election commissions and proxies of the Civil Contract party. They were the most noticeable in the recorded cases," the organization concluded.

It should be noted that on October 25, local government elections were held in several communities in Armenia. The elections were characterized by a lack of competition and pressure on opposition forces. Moreover, opposition forces complained that tens of thousands of Armenian citizens were deprived of their voting rights because they traveled abroad for seasonal work.