Transparency International shocked by yesterday's electionsJune 1, 2009 - 18:48 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - "We are just shocked by what we saw with our own eyes. Never before were such kind of cynical and illegitimate elections held in Armenia. If elections in our country are marred by such disgrace, why do we conduct them at all?" Amalia Kostanyan, Chairwoman of Transparency International-Armenia, told a news-conference.Mr. Kostanyan distinguished 3 stages of falsifications and wrongdoings during elections. First stage (08-10 a.m.): minor breaches, including ballot box stuffing and repeated voting. Second stage (around 12:00): intimidation of observers and journalists by skinheads and bodyguards of some local leaders (authorities). Third stage (from 05:00 p.m.): disputes among commission members on the number of ballots to be cast in favor of this or that candidate. "Perhaps, the preliminary agreement was breached," Ms. Kostanyan noted. She particularly focused on polling station N.8 where there were no opposition representatives. "I am sure that even if some representative of Heritage Party had been present there, he wouldn't have managed to cope with the situation," she added. Top stories The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Yerevan City Council has elected Tigran Avniyan from the ruling Civil Contract as the mayor of the Armenian capital. The Armenian Parliament on Tuesday, October 3 voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Partner news | Caring for nature, we have started with ourselves - Team Telecom Armenia Team Telecom Armenia summarized the work undertaken within the company in the direction of environmental protection. Azerbaijani President travels to Moscow Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Residents of border Armenian villages continue protests Residents of several Armenian communities in Tavush province continued protests into April 22 morning. U.S. welcomes Armenia, Azerbaijan’s border delimitation announcement Blinken said it is an important step towards concluding a durable and dignified peace agreement. |