Observers should not be rubber stamps for Pashinyan’s Civil Contract

The international election observation mission monitoring the snap parliamentary election in Armenia has presented its preliminary post-election statement at a press conference on Monday, 21 June 2021. The observers said that the election was generally well-administered, but some key concerns remain.

Today, Armenia Alliance has signaled that it refuses to accept the election results which will be effectively challenged before the Constitutional Court of Armenia. The Alliance will also make an effort to mobilise the other election contestants to appeal the election results and various aspects of the election operations.

Armenia Alliance has continuously raised serious concerns with the international community on the systematic violations during the election campaign. The Alliance provided the ODIHR’s election observation mission and other foreign missions in Armenia with clear and convincing evidence. The violations included the abuse of official position, the misuse of administrative resources, the spread of hate speech, the abuses of the criminal justice etc. The 2021 parliamentary election contradicts to the principles of the 1990 Copenhagen Document and other international commitments.

It must be acknowledged that the concerns remain unanswered by the international election observation missions. Evidently, the international observers have failed to maintain the minimum standards of impartiality and independence. The international observers should not be rubber stamps for Pashinyan’s Civil Contract.

The results of this election prove that Armenians' faith in the integrity of our election process has been shaken by major controversies, which underscores the need for serious changes, which the ruling party have failed to implement electoral reforms. It’s no surprise that many voters are concerned about the legitimacy of elections and the integrity of their results.

Public trust in the electoral process is critical to ensuring participation and acceptance of election results. This is especially important when elections take place in challenging circumstances – such as the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war – and when there are high levels of political polarization.