CEC Chairman says September 18 elections were free and fair (video)
Chairman of Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC), Tigran Mukuchyan, says the rumours about massive voter fraud in the September 18 local elections do not correspond to reality. Talking to journalists on Friday, Mr. Mukuchyan condemned the incident that occurred in Etchmiadzin on the eve of Election Day and instances of violence in general. Then he added that based on the factual data he could announce that the Sept. 18 elections were free and fair and in full compliance with the EC requirements. Asked whether the voting was not to be discontinued in Etchmiadzin because of the reported violence there, Mr. Mukuchyan said that neither the CEC nor the TEC found any reasons to terminate the process. “There was no legal basis for suspension. None of the proxies submitted any complaint that there were definite reasons, for example, citizens could not participate in the vote or their electoral right were violated or obstructed,” he said. If one of the candidate is in hospital, isn’t it a reason for suspending elections? “The person is in hospital, but his relatives first said they would participate in the vote, then they said they would not. Eventually, they went to the polls and cast their ballots. Besides, the person you are speaking about had proxies at some polling stations. This was the legal ground based on which the TEC was to make decisions. There were proxies at polling stations and they met no obstacles,” Mr. Mukuchyan said. Supporters of the defeated candidate, Arthur Tumanyan, report about ballot stuffing and are going to appeal the election results. “It is the basic requirement of the law that each citizen participate in the process. We have not received any complaint about ballot stuffing or application to invalidate election results. The rest is only judgments and I do not know their purpose. Summing up his speech, Mr. Mukuchyan said on September 18 they fully ensured the transparency of elections. In conclusion, he added that local elections will be held in 375 communities on October 2.
