Democracy requires new tools of protection - MP

ArmInfo. The delegation of the RA National Assembly to the OSCE PA is taking part in the ongoing  OSCE PA Winter Meeting led by the Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations Sargis Khandanyan.

The member of the RA NA delegation Artur Hovhannisyan gave a speech  in the Meeting.

"Dear President, dear colleagues,

Today, hybrid interference in electoral processes is no longer a  theoretical threat. It has become a practical toolkit used to  undermine political stability and weaken trust in democratic  institutions.

We are speaking about coordinated disinformation campaigns,  cyberattacks, the artificial fueling of polarization, and influence  operations driven by foreign political interests.

These mechanisms become particularly active in the period leading up  to elections. In Armenia as well, as elections approach, we are  already witnessing such developments in practice. External political  actors and affiliated information networks are increasing their  activity - generating information noise, attempting to shape the  domestic political agenda, weakening public trust, and influencing  public sentiment.

This is not only Armenia's challenge.

It is a matter of democratic sovereignty.

We must clearly state that democracy requires new tools of  protection.

It is necessary to:

  strengthen cybersecurity of electoral processes,

  detect and prevent coordinated disinformation networks,

  ensure transparency of financial and political influence,

  and deepen international cooperation to prevent hybrid  interference.

I am confident that through cooperation and coordinated efforts,  including with the help of election observation missions deployed by  our Assembly, democracy in our countries will remain protected.

Thank you," Artur Hovhannisyan said.