CONSTITUTIONAL COURT WEIGHS IN ON YEREVAN ELECTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000341 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM KJUS AM SUBJECT: CONSTITUTIONAL COURT WEIGHS IN ON YEREVAN ELECTION YEREVAN 00000341 001.2 OF 002 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) On May 8, Armenia's Constitutional Court agreed with the arguments of the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) in its appeal that voters without actual registration in a locality should not be included on voter lists during local elections. This decision flies in the face of alleged ruling party attempts to falsify the upcoming Yerevan municipal election by bussing in voters from outside the capital to cast ballots. While the Constitutional Court decision does not rule out the possibility of tainted elections come May 31, it does represent a victory for judicial independence in Armenia. END SUMMARY. -------------- CONFLICTING ELECTORAL CODE ARTICLES -------------- ¶2. (SBU) One of the articles in Armenia's Electoral Code stipulates that the heads of local governments in Armenia are to be elected by citizens who have resided in a particular community for a year. There is another article in the same code, however, that sets no minimum residency requirements for voters living in Yerevan. In spite of the first article's one-year residency threshold, Armenia's Central Electoral Commission (CEC) cited the second article and had been allowing community administrations and police departments in Yerevan to include all city residents - even those who had just arrived -- on the voter lists to be used in the May 31 election. -------------- ANC APPEALS CEC'S INTERPRETATION -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The ANC led by former President Levon Ter-Petrossian denounced the CEC's interpretation of the Electoral Code in late April, when it found out it was allowing the registration of all residents living in Yerevan, and stated that the clause invoked by the CEC was unconstitutional. After the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) and the administrative court of appeals dismissed the ANC's claims, the ANC appealed to the Constitutional Court to declare the CEC interpretation null and void. ¶4. (SBU) In its appeal, the ANC argued that the CEC had misinterpreted the Electoral Code in such as a way as to effectively allow the ruling party (Republican Party of Armenia) to bus voters from Armenia's provinces into Yerevan to vote. Without a requirement that voters be officially registered in Yerevan, the CEC 
thereby would have permitted voters who do not reside in Yerevan to vote in its local elections. -------------- CONSTITUTIONAL COURT AGREES WITH ANC -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In its May 8 decision, the Court overruled the CEC's interpretation, siding with the ANC. In its press release announcing the decision, the Constitutional Court "considered the argument of the applicant, stating that non-registered persons cannot be included in the voter lists for the elections of local self-governing bodies, to be justified." The press release also stated that "the Court also determined that in the course of the practical application of law, Article 10.3(1) of the Election Code of Armenia has been interpreted in a way that also persons not residing in the given community can be included in the voter lists for the elections of local self-governing bodies. This does not stem from the constitutional-legal content of local self-governance. The mentioned norm is only applicable to national elections for the preparation of the voter lists by communities, and does not create any issues with regard to the latter." -------------- CEC AMENDS ELECTION SCHEDULE AS A RESULT -------------- ¶6. (SBU) As a result of the Constitutional Court's ruling on Article 10 of the Electoral Code, the CEC on May 11 made corresponding changes to the public election schedule. These changes included the elimination of the date that had been previously listed as a deadline for community heads and Armenia's Passport and Visa Department (OVIR) to include non-registered voters into voter lists. -------------- BUT POTENTIAL FOR FRAUD STILL LOOMS -------------- YEREVAN 00000341 002.2 OF 002 ¶7. (SBU) The Court also addressed Article 2 of the Election Code, which stipulates a requirement of at least one year residence in a given local community in order to be eligible to vote in that locality's election. The CEC had interpreted this one-year limitation to apply to non-Armenian citizens only, thereby exempting Armenian citizens. The Constitutional Court's opinion on this issue was vague, and allows room for various interpretations, leaving the final decision to OVIR, which is responsible for registering residents. When the Embassy contacted OVIR to see how they would interpret the Court's decision, the head of its legal department stated that in spite of the the CEC's interpretation, OVIR plans to include on voter lists only those individuals who have resided in Yerevan for at least a year, regardless of their citizenship. ¶8. (SBU) Despite the Constitutional Court's ruling, the ANC still believes that the authorities will find a way to bring ineligible voters from Armenia's regions into Yerevan on Election Day. One way they say this could be done is to register "ghost voters" at the same residence located in Yerevan. The ANC alleged to Emboffs on May 18 that this has already begun, with some residents reporting to them that dozens of unknown people are being registered as being residents in an individual apartment located in their buildings. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The Constitutional Court's ruling is welcome news, especially as it showed a rare glimmer of judicial independence from the executive branch. But vote tampering is a refined art in Armenia that evolves and becomes more sophisticated with time. With this in mind, the Court decision may prove to be an irritant rather than an insurmountable obstacle for those intent on falsifying the election. YOVANOVITCH