SPECIAL ELECTION WILL TEST GOAM'S DEMOCRATIC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 YEREVAN 001048 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM AM SUBJECT: SPECIAL ELECTION WILL TEST GOAM'S DEMOCRATIC COMMITMENT AND OPPOSITION LEADER'S MOMENTUM REF: A) YEREVAN 984 B) YEREVAN 753 YEREVAN 00001048 001.2 OF 004 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) The August 26 race to fill the District 15 parliamentary seat may be a small harbinger of Armenian authorities' commitment to election integrity, looking ahead to the 2008 presidential election. The race will also either strengthen or deal a setback to Heritage Party leader Raffi Hovannisian's emerging status as the rising star of Armenia's opposition. The government declined to accredit U.S. diplomats or the USAID-funded IFES election specialists to observe the election, though a U.S.-funded domestic NGO was granted credentials and will have observers in every precinct. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) With only a few days left until the special election for TEC 15, Poloff visited Talin, the largest town in the district, and its surrounding villages to talk to the candidates, gauge the sentiments of voters and learn what election officials are doing to prevent a repeat of May's faulty election. -------------- BACKGROUND -------------- ¶3. (U) District 15 is a predominantly rural and poverty-stricken area in northwestern Armenia that abuts the closed international border with Turkey. In May, village elders and other public officials were accused of intimidation at the polls, and the chairman of one precinct electoral commission (PEC) is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence for fraud. Winning with a declared margin of less than one percent in a majoritarian race that authorities privately acknowledge was riddled with fraud, Republican Candidate Khachik Manukyan succumbed to pressure to withdraw from his parliamentary seat, forcing a special election in the district on August 26 (See Ref B). Six candidates are now vying for the opportunity to represent the almost 60,000 voters of the 15th District in the National Assembly. -------------- WHO'S RUNNING? -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The cast of characters for thee special election is mostly unchanged from May, with the notable exception of national opposition figure Raffi Hovannisian. Mnatsakan Mnatsakanyan, who was Prosperous Armenia's candidate and made a strong showing in May, seems to have strong support in Talin. Prosperous Armenia's coalition agreement with the Republican Party means that the party is now barred from overtly supporting its former candidate, who is now running as an independent against his Republican Party rival. Mnatsakanyan believes he should have won in May, and is doing all he can to discomfit his Republican opponent. In a classic "dirty tricks" ploy, Mnatsakanyan lined up two locals who coincidentally shared the same name as the Republican candidate, one a small farmer and another a shoemaker, and persuaded them to register as candidates as well. These sound-alike candidates' names were withdrawn before the ballots were printed, however. ¶5. (SBU) Khachik Manukyan, the same Republican candidate who was forced to withdraw from parliament following May's flawed election, is running again, this time on what he calls "an anti- corruption platform." Manukyan claims that his withdrawal and submission to a new public poll somehow proves that he could not YEREVAN 00001048 002.2 OF 004 be corrupt. On a visit to nearby Ashnak village, we found voters skeptical of this argument and generally uncomfortable with Manukyans candidacy after the fraud perpetrated on his behalf. ¶6. (SBU) The big change from the May election is the addition of Heritage Party chairman Raffi Hovannisian to the field. Hovannisian won a proportional seat in Parliament in May, and is attempting to build on his popularity following that race to secure an eighth seat in the National Assembly for his party (Ref A). Central Election Commission data shows that Hovannisian's party polled well in the district on May 12. According to Heritage Party representative Tigran Sargsyan, the party "has widespread support in the region (and) people are excited about his candidacy." Sargsyan pointed out that Hovannisian enjoys a natural support base in District 15 because of his Armenian Diaspora roots; most of the residents of the district are descendants of those Armenians that once fled the massacres perpetrated in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. For his part, Mnatsakanyan has criticized Hovannisian's entry into the local race, stating that the Heritage Party chairman "is already a deputy. Why should he run?" -------------- LOCAL MEDIA? WHAT'S THAT? -------------- ¶7. (SBU) A significant factor in the campaign is the absence of any local mass media. While Armenian state television and radio channels are received, the lack of local newspapers, or radio or television stations that reach the district has hampered many of the "easier" campaign methods the candidates could have employed. According to territorial election commission (TEC) Chairman Hovik Asatryan, the lack of local media "likely contributed" to the lack of a publicized face-to-face debate amongst the candidates. -------------- ADAPTING CAMPAIGN STYLES -------------- ¶8. (SBU) In Talin and some surrounding villages, we learned that the strategies employed by the three principal candidates to garner support have been quite different from those used earlier this year. Mnatsakanyans supporters have covered village walls with his campaign posters, and he told us he has been spending a considerable amount of time building his base in Talin and surrounding villages. Hovannisian, famous for his colorful bus that drove through hundreds of villages during the spring campaign, has abandoned that tactic in favor of door-to- door canvassing. Hovannisian has been seen speaking to farmers in fields and helping women carry water from wells. Khachik Manukyan told us that his own campaign has used party- commissioned poll data to locate areas in the district where his support is weak. He has attempted to emulate Hovannisian in joining villagers in local pastimes. We heard, however, that when Manukyan sat down to play cards with some elderly gentlemen in the village center, he was met with more jeers than cheers. -------------- WILL THE ELECTION BE BETTER THIS TIME? -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The territorial election commission (TEC) members with whom we spoke indicated that they are keen to ensure that the fraud that plagued May's poll will not be repeated. The TEC chairman cited the conviction and sentencing of a PEC chairman YEREVAN 00001048 003.2 OF 004 in the district as a deterrent to fraud. Nevertheless, District 15 has more precincts than any other electoral district (84), which makes it difficult to monitor every polling place on Election Day. The candidates plan to send proxies to each precinct to ensure that voters are not coached, and that ballots are counted fairly. ¶10. (SBU) Nevertheless, the recent visit of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Territorial Administration Hovik Abrahamian to the district has caused concern among opposition contenders. According to Heritage Party campaign workers, several local mayors who met with Abrahamian reported that the Deputy Prime Minister reminded those in attendance that the meager stipends the central government sends to the localities would not be apportioned until after the election. This, according to both the Hovannisian and Mnatsakanyan camps, amounted to a veiled threat that the Republican-dominated central government would penalize villages that do not vote for Manukyan. The Hovannisian and Mnatsakanyan campaigns claim they have worked overtime to allay village fears of voting against Manukyan. -------------- OBSERVERS, CREDENTIALS AND BEARS! OH MY! -------------- ¶11. (SBU) There is no formal international observation effort for this election. This arises partly from the modest formal significance of this race (one seat out of 131 in parliament), and partly from the general August somnolence that plagues the local diplomatic corps and international organizations. Upon learning that OSCE had no plans to do anything, we tried, to energize like-minded diplomats to mount a modest ad hoc effort to observe the election. None of the other embassies were willing to request credentials or participate in observation teams. ¶12. (SBU) Post requested Central Election Commission accreditation for six emboffs to serve as election observers, but the CEC denied this. The CEC chairman justified the denial with a legalistic argument that we did not apply early enough. He protested that he would have preferred to approve our request, but his hands were tied. The accreditation request from USAID-funded election assistance implementer IFES met a similar fate. The CEC chairman volunteered to squire emboffs and/or the IFES head around to various polling stations on Election Day as his guests. DCM now plans to accept the chairman's offer, while poloffs will also travel the area to see what can be seen without entering the polling places. ¶13. (U) The USAID-funded domestic election observation NGO "It's Your Choice" (IYC) was granted CEC accreditation, and plans to deploy two-person, Yerevan-based observation teams to every one of the 84 polling places. Separately, the American Bar Association/Rule of Law Institute, another USAID implementer, will also reprise its election day legal assistance van to the region, to take voter complaints about irregularities and help voters prepare any official fraud claims that they may wish to file with authorities. The ABA/ROLI election fraud hotline will also operate. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶14. (SBU) While the rehashing of the Manukyan-Mnatsakanyan rivalry seems to be on the minds of voters, District 15's three- way race is noteworthy for Raffi Hovannisian's involvement and for the clues it may offer to the prospects for a fair YEREVAN 00001048 004.2 OF 004 electoral process in Armenias Presidential election next February. Hovannisian is in the race to build on his and his party's burgeoning popularity and, in his own words, "to reclaim step- by-step, day-by-day, those votes stolen from us." It will be interesting to see if the Heritage Party chairman's strategy of bringing his national following to this small backwater of rural Armenia helps boost his presidential aspirations. Regardless of who wins, however, this is the CEC's opportunity to clean up some of the ugly aspects of May's election, and many in and out of Armenia will be taking notice of how it does. END COMMENT. PERINA