25 May 2003

20.00 - Throughout the country, the polling stations have closed; the election
is over. The commissions have begun the process of tabulation.



19.45 - When asked by journalists, Galust Sahakyan, campaign manager for the
Republican Party, mentioned several irregularities that had taken place,
according to party representatives. We point out that this was preceded by ARF
statements accusing the Republicans. In particular, they said that Republican
Napoleon Azizyan had demanded open-ballot voting, and that there had been
intimidation in other polling stations. According to one journalist, the ARF is
preparing a document demanding that results in two precincts be invalidated.
Galust Sahakyan stated that he has different information pointing in the
opposite direction.



In his turn, Sahakyan mentioned several violations connected to the ARF. In
precinct#30, 20 or 30 ARF members were circling around intimidating people,
claiming that there were violations going on. They mentioned Vahan
Hovhanissyan’s name. A written complaint was submitted to the CEC.



And in precinct #4, ARF members demanded that open-ballot voting be conducted.
The commission intervened and a complaint was registered.



On the evening of May 24th, residents of Moldovakan Street in the Nork 2nd
Massive called the Republicans saying that a group of young men were knocking on
doors and calling on people to vote for the ARF, although campaigning was no
longer allowed.



In Precinct #94, in the polling station at School #84, the principal of the
school, who is neither a member of the election commission nor a proxy, was
present on the school premises. The principal is a member of the Orinats Yerkir
Party.



After providing all this information, Galust Sahakyan said, “I don’t think the
elections are being conducted with irregularities - there is no significant
tension.”



19.30 - Information has come in from Polling Station #33/22 in the village of
Tsovagyugh in the Gegharkunik Marz that as of 6:30, the ballots had run out.
Those who came to the station to vote after that were unable to do so.



19.20 - Our correspondent Karine Simonyan reports from Alaverdi:



The proxies of Hamlet Tamazyan, a candidate in Precinct #40, registered that
Hovhannes Kochinyan and the mayor of Alaverdi were making the rounds of almost
all the polling stations.



In Polling Station #11/70 in Precinct #44, voters cast ballots that had not been
stamped. The commission members weren’t preventing voters from voting more than
once.



19.00 - At 2:00 p.m. in Precinct #45 in the Kotayk Marz, candidate Hovhannes
Hovhanissyan, who is the current chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on
Foreign Relations and head of Armenia’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe recalled all his proxies from the polling stations and
declared that he refused to participate further in the race. (Haykakan Zhamanak)



18.25 - The ARF headquarters reports:



At 11:00 a.m. local observer Samvel Nercissyan was beaten in Precinct #12 while
monitoring the voting. According to Argishti Kiviryan, who is a proxy of
candidate Versand Hakobyan, the observer was beaten by the brother of another
candidate in the precinct, Harutyun Gharagyozyan. Kiviryan told us that
Nercissyan presented a complaint to the Shengavit district police. He was
subsequently sent to Yerevan Hospital #6 for medical tests. Kirivyan also said
that in a number of polling stations, in particular #02/57, #02/67, and #02/72,
the proxies of Harutyun Gharagyozyan are armed, and they don’t even conceal it
from the members of the commission or the police. “There have been a number of
instances of violence, as a result of which the atmosphere in the polling
stations is extremely tense. It is worth mentioning that the commission chairmen
use any excuse to refuse to register the written complaints of the proxies,”
Kiviryan said.



Go to
www.hetq.am/en/election.html  to learn more