REVISED ELECTION CODE MOVING FORWARD, FINALLY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001516

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, EUR/ACE, EUR/RPM, DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2011
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM OSCE AM
SUBJECT: REVISED ELECTION CODE MOVING FORWARD, FINALLY


Classified By: Pol/Econ chief Steve Banks, reasons 1.4 (b,d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Armenia passed its revised election code
through its first reading October 26, a small positive step.
The draft can still be modified before final passage.
OSCE/ODIHR and the Council of Europe Venice Commission
(CoE/VC) provided a detailed joint commentary on the draft
bill. The two organizations have also helped by
including--at our request--in its latest letter to the
parliament speaker the point that further international
review of the legislation would be inappropriate. The local
OSCE chief of mission made this point even more pointedly to
the speaker, as had US OSCE Ambassador Finley during her
recent visit (septel). We hope this will deter the speaker
from his plans to send the latest draft back to ODIHR and
CoE/VC for another round of deliberation, further delaying
final enactment. The speaker's latest forecast was that
final passage of the revised code would come in mid-December.
Our message to the GOAM in recent weeks has been "just get
it done." END SUMMARY.

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JUST PASS SOMETHING!
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2. (C) The National Assembly overwhelmingly passed the draft
election code revisions October 26 on its first reading, with
84 votes in favor, 6 against, and 4 abstentions. The draft
code requires two more readings to be enacted into law.
Parliament Speaker Tigran Torosian told us recently that
final passage would come during the parliament's regular
session in mid-December. He said that earlier passage of the
bill was impossible because it was necessary (in his view)
to send the draft law, after passing its first reading, back
to OSCE/ODIHR and CoE/VC for another round of review and
comment before the National Assembly moved the draft through
to final passage. He further pointed out that parliament
would be consumed with passing the national budget bills
throughout the month of November. Torosian blamed his
predecessor in the speakership, the now-opposition party
leader Artur Baghdissarian, for frittering away the first
half of 2006 and failing to get the election code revisions
on track. NOTE: Baghdissarian's failings aside, Torosian is
not a speedy legislative manager. As Deputy Speaker Vahan
Hovannisian (of the ARF-Dashnaktsutyun party) wryly commented
to us, "Torosian can spend four hours deciding about a
comma." END NOTE


3. (C) We met with the ODIHR/CoE technical assesment team
which visited earlier this month to assess Armenia's progress
on election preparations. Our key message to the team was
that they include in their upcoming letter on their findings
the point that speed is of the essence, and that there's
neither need nor time for ODIHR or CoE/VC to re-reveiw the
National Assembly's latest round of tinkerings to the draft
legislation. Though tentative at the time, the team seems to
have taken our message. The letter which they sent this week
to Speaker Torosian reiterates a handful of quibbles they
continue to have with Armenia's draft law, but concludes:
"We encourage the National Assembly of the Republic of
Armenia to expedite the process of concluding the amendments
to the electoral code in view of the upcoming parliamentary
elections in 2007. The Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR
have on several occasions expressed their Joint Opinion on
the electoral code and the proposed draft amendments. We
refer to these Opinions and believe that they provide
sufficient commentary to the members of the National Assembly
of the Republic of Armenia to enable them to complete teh
amendment process." The letter, which was co-signed by ODIHR
Ambassador Christian Strohal and Venice Commission Secretary
Gianni Buquicchio, also makes the helpful point that "good
faith implementation of the electoral legislation and
political will remain crucial for the conduct of
elections..."

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THE CLOCK IS TICKING
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4. (C) For some time now, we have made the point to
appropriate officials that Armenia has reached a point on the
calendar where it has become more important to get something
enacted than to draft the perfect law. The National Assembly
has promised all year that it would enact a major package of
revisions to its Election Code, in response to a raft of
domestic and international criticisms (especially OSCE/ODIHR
and CoE/VC). The draft bill that parliament has jsut passed
through its first (of three) readings answers some, but not
all of those criticisms. Though the bill is certainly not

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perfect, it is in our judgement "good enough" to be the basis
for clean elections, if the political will to do so is there.


5. (C) There is a great deal of work to be done between now
and election day, which cannot be meaningfully started until
everyone knows what what rules and procedures will be
enshrined in the new election code. The Central Election
Commission must develop implementing regulations and policies
in compliance with the revised law, it must train thousands
of pollworkers in the new rules, and print appropriate
materials. Political parties, NGOs, and international donors
must likewise train election observers in the new rules.
Large portions of our election assistance program remain in a
holding pattern until the final revisions to the election
code are enacted and everyone knows what we have to work
with, in terms of a legal framework.


6. (C) COMMENT: The benign interpretation of the legislative
delays is that Speaker Torosian and his fellow parliament
deputies are immersed in the legislative process, and are
inadequately sensitized to the magnitude of work that the
Central Election Commission and myraid others have to do that
cannot be done until the law is passed. Torosyan is a
perfectionist and a legislative technocrat, who takes very
seriously (arguably micromanages) the legislative process,
and is fully prepared to argue each word of the fine print.
He also seems determined to ensure that neither he nor his
parliament will be accused of poor work by the international
community. The less benign interpretation is that
Torosyan--presumably on instructions from senior executive
branch officials--may be outright stalling. The ruling
powers may well have calculated that it suits their political
interests for the electoral rules of the game to remain
unsettled until late in the process. The confusion arising
from hurried, eleventh-hour preparations and inadequate
training of both pollworkers and observers might, in this
view, be more conducive to hiding and/or making excuses for
election day shenanigans. We continue to push the speaker
and other GOAM officials on this issue. If his intentions are
honest, we may convince him of the need for speed.
Otherwise, we have at least clearly warned the government it
is behind schedule.
GODFREY