OSCE/ODIHR on post-election political context in Armenia

OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission issued on Saturday the third post-election Interim Report on the February 18 presidential elections in Armenia. 

The report’s chapter titled “Post-election political context” reads: “Following election day and the announcement of preliminary results, Mr. Hovannisyan claimed that he won the election. Starting from 20 February, he organized rallies in Yerevan and visited several other cities. The police announced that these rallies are illegal and can lead to administrative liability, but they did not interfere.

The Republican Party of Armenia announced that it had cancelled a rally to celebrate the election victory of Mr. Sargsyan at Freedom Square in Yerevan on 21 February, in order to avoid tensions or clashes between the supporters of the two candidates.

On 21 February, Mr. Hovannisyan met with Mr. Sargsyan. During his rally on 22 February, Mr. Hovannisyan stated that he had asked the president to prosecute all election-related violations and to hold a second round of the presidential election between the top two candidates. Alternatively, he demanded the resignation of the government and the holding of early parliamentary elections; this was rejected by the incumbent. The Presidential Administration told the OSCE/ODIHR EOM that the incumbent had assured Mr. Hovannisyan that perpetrators of violations would be prosecuted.

An OSCE/ODIHR EOM analysis of official results shows a correlation between very high turnout and the number of votes for the incumbent. This raises concerns regarding the confidence over the integrity of the electoral process.

A limited number of complaints were filed with the election administration on election day, and over 80 after the election. Almost all were rejected. The police and the Prosecutor General investigated over 300 possible offences and initiated criminal proceedings in some 10 of them.

The OSCE/ODIHR will issue a comprehensive final report after approximately two months.