STATEMENT
March 21, 2021
On March 18, 2020, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, announced that elections would be held on June 20, 2021, in accordance with an agreement reached with the opposition factions of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia.
Although the statement does not address the electoral legislation, the thesis is being circulated that after the adoption of the amendments, political forces and the electoral system need 6 months to prepare for the elections under the new rules; therefore, the upcoming snap elections should be held in accordance with the Electoral Code adopted in 2016. At the same time, it is noted that a “consensus” is necessary between the factions represented in the National Assembly for amendments to the electoral legislation.
The above two theses stem from the provisions of the Venice Commission’s “Code of Good Practice on Electoral Processes”, but both are cited with a formalistic approach and interpreted discretionarily. In this regard, it is necessary to record the following:
The proposed deadline for amendments to the Electoral Code is necessary in terms of the stability of the electoral legislation, the predictability of these amendments, and the preparation for the elections under the new rules.
It is important to remember that the most radical amendments to the Electoral Code were the agenda priority of the broad masses of the people participating in the 2018 revolution, due to which political discussions on them began to take place as early as the summer of 2018 and some mutual agreements were reached, although they could not be adopted before the elections held at the end of the year. The amendments currently proposed to the Electoral Code and related legislation have, in turn, been repeatedly presented and discussed by the public since August 2020 through unprecedented, inclusive, and transparent processes.
In addition, the draft amendments to the Electoral Code provide that the amended provisions will enter into force gradually. That is, the most radical and political changes will take effect immediately, while additional technical and procedural requirements for preparing the electoral system will be phased in over time.
Finally, the Republic of Armenia is in a deep political crisis, under which general advice on best practices cannot be considered irrefutable. Moreover, such a precedent was set in Armenia in 2018, when the provisions of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia related to electoral violations were adopted and entered into force on September 7, immediately before the Yerevan City Council snap elections, and again in late October 2018. The draft amendments to the Electoral Code were put to a vote, ahead of the December 9 parliamentary elections. The amendments were not adopted, but the Venice Commission made no negative comments regarding their presentation or the prospect of holding elections immediately after adoption.
As for the claims about the need to reach a “consensus” between political forces, it should be noted that at the present time, a consensus on the Electoral Code is not possible precisely for political reasons, since some parties prefer to achieve power through the free expression of the people’s will, while others prefer to achieve it through money, criminal influence, or abuse of administrative resources. The current Code creates favorable conditions for achieving power levers through the latter, the position on amendments to the Electoral Code is also a position on these phenomena.
In reality, there is a much broader consensus among the popular, civil, and political masses in the Republic of Armenia regarding changes to the Electoral Code. This is evidenced by the fact that:
The demand for amendments to the Electoral Code by the broad masses of voters and civil society actors was expressed in 2018. During the days of the revolution,
Political discussions on key provisions of the Electoral Code (e.g., electoral system, transition threshold, distribution of mandates, and deadlines for coalition formation) took place in 2018, and an agreement between the Prosperous Armenia and Bright Armenia parties was reached.
The results of the latest representative sociological survey conducted by the International Republican Institute show that the amendment to the Electoral Code is considered important by 74 percent of the population of Armenia,[1] more than 30 organizations and civil activists have joined the demand for the amendment of the Electoral Code, Ideologically oriented parties consider holding early elections, with amendments to the Electoral Code, a top priority.[2]
We hereby reaffirm that the 2021 The position expressed by a number of organizations on March 16, 2021, states that the implementation of the amendments to the Electoral Code mainly depends on the political will of the ruling party, its responsibility to the state and its own people, and its commitment to democratic values.
The statement is open. To join, please fill in the data of the non-governmental organization here.
“Akanates” Observation Initiative
Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center
“Asparez” Journalists’ Club
Law Development and Protection Foundation
Restart Scientific and Educational Foundation
“Independent Observer” Public Alliance
Helsinki Civic Assembly Vanadzor Office
Union of Informed Citizens
Direct Democracy
Educational Center for Equal Rights NGO
“Free Citizen” Civic Initiatives Support Center NGO
[1] https://www.iri.org/sites/default/files/final_for_publication_armenia_electoral_reform_march_8_2021.pdf
[2] http://www.anc.am/?p=3092; https://a1plus.am/hy/article/396386
