CEC ANNOUNCES FINAL RESULTS FOR YEREVAN ELECTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000395

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O.12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM KJUS AM
SUBJECT: CEC ANNOUNCES FINAL RESULTS FOR YEREVAN ELECTION

REFS: A) YEREVAN 390
B)YEREVAN 388
C) YEREVAN 382
D) YEREVAN 372

YEREVAN 00000395 001.2 OF 002


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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) During a June 7 extraordinary session, the Central Election
Commission (CEC) announced the final results of Yerevan's May 31
mayoral election, confirming the preliminary results that it had
released on June 1. The CEC found that the recounts it conducted
after Election Day did not reveal significant irregularities that
affected the outcome of the election. The final number of valid
ballots was found to be 393,516, down from the initial 401,310. The
final percentages assigned to the seven contestants in the election
remained the same as the preliminary count, with the Republican
Party of Armenia netting 46 percent, Prosperous Armenia 22 percent,
and the Armenian National Congress 17 percent in their one-two-three
finish. Results in only six of Yerevan's 439 polling places were
invalidated, with the results of 15 polling places having been
recounted in total. END SUMMARY.

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FIGURES DIDN'T CHANGE MUCH
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2. (SBU) The CEC reported that the final number of participating
voters was 404,634, and that the number of valid ballots was
393,516. The number of ballots cast for each of the seven election
contestants was as follows: the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)
received 186,630 votes; Prosperous Armenia (PA) 89,131; the Armenian
National Congress (ANC) bloc 69,140; Rule of Law (OY) 20,106; the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF-Dashnaks) 18,094; the
People's Party (PP) 8,479; and the Labor Socialist Party of Armenia
(SLP) 1,936

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15 RECOUNTS PERFORMED
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3. (SBU) The CEC and Prosecutor General's Office conducted recounts
of the results of 15 of Yerevan's 439 polling places. The CEC
conducted recounts for eight polling places, while the Prosecutor
General's Office recounted seven. Some of the recounts revealed
serious irregularities, such as the tampering of sacks containing
ballots and other election-related materials, and a mismatching of
numbers in ballots, ballot envelopes and voters' signatures.

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RESULTS IN SIX POLLING PLACES INVALIDATED
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4. (SBU) The results of six of Yerevan's 439 polling places were
invalidated, all in the troubled Malatia-Sebastia district
(reftels). Materials from these precincts were sent to the
Prosecutor General's office for the launch of a criminal case. In
addition, three individuals have been arrested in relation to
election fraud. Two of them are members of the Precinct Electoral
Commissions (PECs),or voting precincts. Altogether, five criminal
cases have been launched in connection with the 15 PECs whose
results were recounted.

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ANC SEES ALL OF ITS COMPLAINTS REJECTED
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5. (SBU) On June 7, the CEC rejected the June 5 appeal lodged by the
ANC requesting the invalidation of the results of the entire
election (ref B),with six of its eight members voting to reject and
two voting not to reject (the opposition Heritage and Dashnak
members voted not to reject the ANC appeal). According to Garegin
Azarian, the CEC's Chairman, the appeal contained no basis for
invalidation, and "the facts presented in the appeal were not duly
formulated." Overall, the CEC rejected all of the complaints that
the ANC filed, many of which had to do with violations allegedly
committed during the election campaign. The CEC rejected the
complaints for various reasons, including incorrectly compiled
complaints; groundless or invalid arguments; and complaints
regarding polling station results that had already been invalidated
or identified by the Prosecutor-General's Office for criminal
investigation.

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NEW CITY COUNCIL MEETS WITHOUT ANC
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6. (SBU) In its final protocol of the election results, the CEC
allocated the respective number of seats in Yerevan's new city

YEREVAN 00000395 002.2 OF 002


council to the following parties: 35 to the RPA, 17 to Prosperous
Armenia and 13 to ANC. The new council held its first session on
June 8, where it was decided that the top RPA candidate, incumbent
mayor Gagik Beglarian, will be sworn in as mayor. It was also
decided that the new council will hold its next session on June 23.
The ANC boycotted the meeting, and has announced it will not take up
the seats it won in the election.

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ELECTION OBSERVER REFUSES SUMMONS, IS ARRESTED
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7. (SBU) On June 5, the Special Investigative Service (SIS),which
has been tasked by the Prosecutor General to investigate
election-related crimes, summoned an election observer employed by
the local Helsinki Association (HA) human rights NGO to provide
testimony on an alleged electoral violation. The individual refused
to go, claiming that the written summons had been incorrectly
formulated. The SIS reportedly then arrested the observer for
allegedly "hindering the representative of the authorities in the
execution of [his] duties." (Note: The crime is punishable by fine
or imprisonment up to 5 years. End Note.) According to Mikael
Danielian, HA's Director, police taunted and beat his employee after
his arrest.

YOVANOVITCH