Tuesday, September 20 2016 17:16

ArmInfo. In the frame of its targeted mission to assess the local by-elections held on September 19 in a part of Armenia's communities, a 15 member delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe visited polling stations in four regions of the country, says  the press release on the website of the Council of Europe.

The delegation, headed by Congress' Rapporteur Liisa Ansala (Finland,  ILDG) and including two members of the EU Committee of the Regions,  was deployed to Aragatsotn, Armavir, Ararat and Tavush, where, in  total, seven teams observed the vote in 100 polling stations.

The polling organised in more than 300 Armenian communities (out of  currently some 900) was conducted for both mayoral and councillor  seats. In the majority of the municipalities both elections were  held, 22 communities voted only for the Mayor, 80 only for the  Municipal Council. Overall, the Congress' delegation found that the  elections were well organised and E-Day carried out in an orderly  manner with the exception of a few incidents and instances of  crowdedness in certain polling stations. Overall, more political  competition between candidates was noticed in larger communities,  whereas in many smaller localities often only one candidate remained  in the list of mayoral candidates.  

In addition to individual features of the electoral process which  need to be addressed by the authorities for future elections, notably  the grey zone in respect of the so-called "assisted voting" for  elderly and voters with disabilities, the Congress' delegation  noticed overall a high number of voters on voters' lists who reside  de facto abroad, a situation bearing the risk of electoral fraud and  therefore constituting a constant concern for electoral observers.

The new Electoral Code of Armenia and provisions to address, in  particular, the prevention of electoral fraud due to multiple voting,  has been under discussion between the Government, the opposition,  civil society and the Council of Europe Venice Commission over the  last months. The local by-elections held on 18 September were still  governed by the existing 2011 Electoral Code and did therefore not  allow the Congress' observers to assess the effectiveness of measures  foreseen to increase the transparency of the electoral process,  notably the access of different stakeholders to the list of voters  who have actually cast their ballot.

For Congress' Head of Delegation Liisa Ansala the improvement of the  quality of voters' lists in Armenia is of crucial importance for the  trust of citizens in the system: "Transparency - together with more  competition between candidates - is needed to increase the interest  of the population in local elections which are currently mainly seen  as a formality by the citizens. We will see in how far the new  Electoral Code, introducing the proportional electoral system, and  the decentralisation reform, which is currently being implemented,  will be able to change the situation to the better."

"It is clear that local communities in Armenia need to be  strengthened - financially, logistically but also in terms of public  awareness for the importance of the local level of government. The  organisation of all local elections on one single day in the entire  country could be conducive in this respect", Ansala stated.

The detailed Information Report following the Electoral Assessment  Mission will be debated in the frame of the 31st Congress Session on  19-21 October in Strasbourg.

Armenia ratified the European Charter of Local Self Government in  2002. The countries which have ratified the Charter are bound by its  provisions. The Charter requires compliance with a minimum number of  rights, which form the European bedrock of local self-government. The  Congress of Local and Regional Authorities makes sure that these  principles are observed.