22 March 2016, 15:15
Armenian activists demand to amend Electoral Code
More than 15 political and public organizations have proposed five amendments to the Electoral Code of Armenia to prevent falsification at the elections and referenda.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 3, the Armenian government approved the draft of the new Electoral Code to come into force on June 1, after the completion of the procedure of hearing at the Parliament.
According to experts, the new Electoral Code imposes restrictions on simultaneous presence of observers and media representatives at the electoral precincts. On March 16, in Armenia, activists started collecting signatures under an online petition demanding to introduce to the new draft of the Electoral Code a paragraph on mandatory disclosure of voters' lists.
16 political and public organizations have issued a statement in which they have nominated five requirements for the new draft of the Electoral Code.
The authors of the statement demand to publish the voters' lists and clear them "by the Georgian model", i.e., to make additional notes on absence in front of the names of Armenian citizens, who left the country.
The number of the demands also includes holding of elections to the National Assembly "under the proportional system with proportional lists, excluding territorial and ranking lists".
The activists also demand instalment of at least five surveillance cameras at each electoral precinct and recording on video the process of counting of votes. Furthermore, they demand to introduce the system of fingerprinting or the principle of applying special ink on fingers of voters.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Author: Armine Martirosyan Source: CK correspondent