ArmInfo. After the 2018 revolution and the formation of a new parliament, Armenia demonstrated promising achievements in advancing reforms in anti-corruption policy. This is stated in the 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index, presented by Transparency International.
According to Varuzhan Hoktanyan, Project Director of the , Anti-Corruption Center (TIAC) at a press conference on January 23, according to the report, with a score of 42 Armenia improved its position by seven points over the year, (out of a maximum of 100) versus the 35th in 2018. Thus, the republic rose from last year's 105th place to 77th. Hoktanyan emphasized that Armenia, in terms of the anti-corruption struggle in the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, for the first time in 17 years managed to get ahead of Turkey, which gained 39 points. The highest scores in the region were scored by Georgia (56), Belarus (45) and Montenegro (45), and the lowest scores were Uzbekistan (25), Tajikistan (25) and Turkmenistan (19).
The report notes that, despite these improvements, conflicts of interests and nontransparent and unaccountable public operations remain impediments to ending corruption in the country. "While improving political integrity will take time and resources, increasing public trust in law enforcement and the judiciary are critical first steps in ensuring appropriate checks and balances and improving anti-corruption efforts," the document emphasizes.
Hoktanyan informed that in the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the average anti-corruption indicator is 35. However, according to Transparency International, countries in this region face abuse of public resources for election purposes, non-transparent financing of political parties and conflicts of interest. Meanwhile, Transparency International mentioned Armenia as a country that deserves attention due to the demonstrated progress. The global average in the Corruption Perception Index was 43 points, and in most countries of the world corruption manifestations continue to grow. At the same time, indicators deteriorated in 21 countries, including Canada and Australia. New Zealand and Denmark ranked first in the Index with 87 points each; followed by Finland (86), Switzerland, Singapore and Sweden (85 each). Among the post-Soviet countries, Russia scored 28 points, Estonia- 74, Lithuania - 60, Latvia and Georgia - 56 each, Belarus - 45, Kazakhstan - 34, Moldova - 32, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine - 30 each. Closing the rating is Somalia (9 points), South Sudan (12) and Syria (thirteen). The corruption perception index is compiled on the basis of surveys of experts and entrepreneurs, which are held annually around the world by various international organizations. Among them are the World Bank, the American Freedom House and Global Insight, the German Bertelsmann Foundation, the British Economist Intelligence Unit, the Swiss International Institute for Business Development and others. These studies analyze certain aspects - investment risks, freedom of speech, standard of living, but one way or another address corruption issues. This year, when compiling the index, Transparency also analyzed the relationship between perceptions of corruption and political integrity in each country. The idea was how much interested parties influence the political system and how fully it takes into account the opinion of all possible social factors. The organization concluded that good indicators of the corruption perception index are characteristic of countries where stricter campaign finance rules are in place and political consultations with the participation of representatives of the public and business are widely used. Poor indicators are inherent in countries where "the most important representatives of politics, the public and business are not involved in the process of political decision-making".