On April 19 the members of Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth Independent States (IPA CIS) Observation Mission of Parliamentary Elections to Armenia, headed by Alexander Torshin, Vice Speaker of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and Mr. Mikhail Krotov IPA CIS Secretary General had meetings with representatives of factions.

The RPA represented Mr.Galust Sahakyan, Head of faction, Mr. Gagik Minasyan and Mr. Samvel Nikoyan, members of the faction. Head of faction highlighted the presence of observation delegations in the election process. He noted that the power is interested in their presence since from holding free and fair upcoming parliamentary elections the international prestige and further development of our country depend on. It was noted that special committee was set up with participation of parliamentary political forces and headed by the NA President Mr. Tigran Torosyan. The purpose of the committee is to quickly response to the comments of observation delegations in the course of campaign and during the Election Day. Mr. Sahakyan noted that one of the most important issues on the agenda of the RPA is the conduct of free and fair elections, and the party has carried out a lot of works in that direction. They set up special headquarters of quick response with separate telephone lines and will react in case of election violations. According to Mr. Sahakyan, the ten-day campaign showed that everything was done to provide equal opportunities and conditions for all political forces.

Mr. Torshin noted that the purpose of their visit is to study the organizational process of preparation works of the upcoming parliamentary elections. He highlighted the conduct of free and fair elections without any shakings, noting the interest of Russia in political stability of Armenia. According to him, there are a lot of Armenians living in Russia, and the Armenian community is one of the most organized and law-abiding communities.

Mr. Krotov noted that the IPA CIS has been observing elections in CIS countries since 1994 and have big experience in that. It was noted that from March 1, 2007 the information-advisory center in Armenia, where the working group comprised 29 observers is functioning. 2 observers work per every marz of Armenia, and they present to the IPA CIS weekly reports on the election process. According to Mr. Krotov the observation results show that violations of previous elections were corrected for 95%, and the reforms in the Electoral Code promoted to that. Mr. Krotov informed that IPA CIS observers will arrive to Armenia one week before the elections.

The members of Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth Independent States (IPA CIS) Observation Mission of Parliamentary Elections to Armenia, headed by Alexander Torshin, Vice Speaker of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and Mr. Mikhail Krotov, IPA CIS Secretary General had meetings with Mr. Stepan Zakaryan, member of Justice faction and Mr. Felix Khachatryan, representative of People’s Party of Armenia in CEC.

Mr. Stepan Zakaryan noted that real results of parliamentary elections in 2003 didn’t coincide with the evaluations of the CIS observation mission. He expressed a hope that the observers’ evaluations during these elections would be more transparent. Mr. Felix Khachatryan expressed dissatisfaction with the CEC works, noting that the requirements of the RA Constitution are being violated. According to him, the persons not residing in the country for the last five years are registered on the electoral lists; the equal conditions for opposition parties to place advertiser plackets are not created. Mr. A. Torshin noted that their purpose is to observe the implementation of Electoral Code provisions in Armenia. He also highlighted that their evaluations of elections will be fair and transparent. Mr. Torshin inspired the members of the faction that in case of discovery of election violations they would apply to them.

The members of Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth Independent States (IPA CIS) Observation Mission of Parliamentary Elections to Armenia had a meeting with Mr. Mher Shahgeldyan, member of Orinats Yerkir (Country of law).

He mentioned that the elections are of great importance for them and will mark the development of Armenia in the upcoming 10-15 years. The role of parliamentary elections is becoming more important especially after the constitutional reforms (where the authorities of legislative and executive powers were reviewed) and prior to presidential elections as well. And the Electoral Code through which the elections will be held he evaluated as a document with both: positive and negative provisions.

In Mr. A.Torshin’s words they have big experience in observing elections: recently they have observed elections in Serbia as well. The representatives from Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan are involved in the observation group. Mr. A. Tosrhin expressed an opinion that the evaluation of the observation mission will be more unbiased with such group. He noted that deputies are involved in the observation mission. Today, the view is circulating that observation mission should be a special group, consisting of professionals. According to the Vice Speaker of Russian Federation, that assumes presence of an employer. He assured that their attitude towards the election process would be objective conditioned by which the group will become vulnerable. He had an impression that the good will in holding free and fair elections is evident. He didn’t notice aggressive relations among political opponents. Mr. Krotov noted that their task is to observe the implementation of law, without interfering into internal issues. In spite of the fact, what kind of evaluation had the Electoral Code from political forces, it should not be violated. The member of the OYP informed the observers about high tariffs of the paid air, about difficulties in placement of political foreign advertisements and in renting auditoriums. The party, according to Mr. Shahgeldyan, with all political and legal means will fight all negative phenomena.

The members of IPA CIS Observation Mission of Parliamentary Elections to Armenia, headed by Alexander Torshin, Vice Speaker of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and Mr. Mikhail Krotov IPA CIS Secretary General had a meeting with ULP members: Mr. Gurgen Arsenyan, Mr.Grigor Ghonjeyan and Mrs. Hripsime Avetisyan.

Greeting the guests, Mr. G. Arsenyan said that they proposed their assistance for implementation of better observation mission and noted that they are optimistic in their opportunities in the elections.

Touching upon the tasks of the delegation, Mr. Torshin noted that their purpose is to observe so the provisions of the Electoral Code are not violated, and the upcoming parliamentary elections are held free and fair, since they are more interested in the political image of Armenia. By studying the reports of other observation missions, the delegation members noted that the shortcomings of the previous elections process had decreased by 95%. Mr. Torshin noted that the impressions from different meetings are positive: mainly everybody is sure that the elections will be held in the atmosphere of transparency. The head of the ULP faction informed that the Electoral Code has been reformed, and the opposition is in better informative conditions: according to him, the Public Television provides more broadcast time to the opposition. Mr. G. Arsenyan touched upon the relations between authorities and opposition. According to him, the political conflict is simply absent in Armenia; women are less involved in politics.

The members of the IPA CIS Observation Mission of Parliamentary Elections to Armenia had a meeting with Mr. Aleksan Karapetyan, Secretary of the National Unity and Mr. Gagik Kostanyan, member of the faction.

Mr.T orshin is sure that the observation delegation may have great impact on the process of holding free and fair elections. According to him, in pre-election period the absence of conflict between the Armenian political forces and fair competition is praiseworthy. He highlighted that the Russian Federation is interested in holding free and fair elections, since a great number of Armenians carry out economic and political activity in Russia. He called the members of the faction to apply to them in case of election violations. Mr. Krotov noted that the monitoring will be held in polling stations before the elections. According to Mr. Karapetyan, Secretary of the National Unity the election process is carried out in more civilized way. He is sure that the political will is necessary for holding free and transparent elections. He noted that the international structures: IPA, PACE and CE as a result of joint work will ensure free and fair elections. He is sure that not only the opposition, but the authorities also are interested in legitimate elections. Highlighting the conduct of elections in conformity with democracy standards, Mr. Karapetyan noted that the National Unity would fight against violations within the framework of law. Mr. Karapetyan participated in the development of the Electoral Code. He expressed a hope that the next parliamentary elections will be held under majoritarian electoral system.

Mr. Gagik Kostandyan informed that they applied to Police for correct election lists, though the issue did not get going. According to Mr. Karapetyan, to inflict responsibility upon inaccuracy on the election lists will allow to avoid frauds.

The members of the IPA CIS Observation Mission of Parliamentary Elections to Armenia had a meeting with ARF faction members Mr. Ruben Hovsepyan and Mr. Gegham Manukyan.

Mr. Krotov highly evaluated the cooperation of CIS IPA member countries in different spheres; highlighted the development of documents related to elections, particularly the Convention, which does not yield in anything to Copenhagen Convention. He evaluated the Armenian election process as peaceful, expressing satisfaction that the political forces, concerned with the future of the country, go to elections not with animosity towards each other, but with realization of political competition. Mr. Krotov informed that their observation group will report any violations before and during the elections, if there are some, and the Parliament will give its political assessment.

Mr. Torshin underlined that they are interested in fair, without violations elections in Armenia, which will increase the Armenian prestige in international arena.

The ARF faction embers Mr. R. Hovsepyan and Mr. G. Manukyan noted that the Central Electoral Committee has been very organized so far. Though, there were some undesirable events: shooting, blasts, they expressed a hope that it will not put shadow on the elections. According to them, in spite of the opposition’s complaints, the provision of the broadcast time to different political forces is objective and unbiased.

Members of the delegation and representatives of the ARF faction expressed conviction that the parliamentary elections in Armenia will be held in conformity with international standards, since that is the desire of the political parties and observation groups. It was mutually noted that the organization and fairness of the upcoming elections will be conditioned by the attitude of the public.