TWO GOVERNMENT LOYALISTS JAILED FOR ELECTORAL FRAUD

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000431 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O.12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM KJUS AM SUBJECT: TWO GOVERNMENT LOYALISTS JAILED FOR ELECTORAL FRAUD REFS: A)YEREVAN 429 B)YEREVAN 395 C)YEREVAN 390 D)YEREVAN 388 E)YEREVAN 382 F)YEREVAN 372 YEREVAN 00000431 001.2 OF 002 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) On June 16, two pro-government loyalists were sentenced to three years in prison for electoral fraud during Yerevan's May 31 municipal election. Both of the men were found guilty of ballot-stuffing at a voting precinct in Yerevan's Malatia-Sebastia district, the site of widespread fraud on Election Day. One of them, Norik Yeghiazarian, was a backer of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) and a member on the electoral commission of the precinct where he engaged in ballot stuffing. The other, Armen Ohanian, was a local resident in the district. The opposition claims the convictions were contrived to placate the international community. Meanwhile, President Sargsian was photographed at a June 9 Turkey-Armenia youth soccer match with a notorious MP oligarch who is widely believed to be responsible for the fraud in Malatia-Sebastia. Sargsian's public appearance with the notorious "Lfik Samo" is at odds with his recent public statements condemning electoral fraud. END SUMMARY. -------------- TWO LOYALISTS FOUND GUILTY IN 20 MINUTES -------------- ¶2. (U) Two loyalists of President Sargsian's Republican Party were found guilty on June of ballot-stuffing in the May 31 Yerevan municipal election. Both of the loyalists were arrested June 2 by the Special Investigative Service (SIS),and charged with stuffing 15 fake ballots marked for the RPA. Both pleaded guilty to the charges at the launch of their trial, which reportedly lasted only 20 minutes before the judge handed down the verdicts requested by prosecutors. ¶3. (U) According to media reports, the two men are the first government loyalists ever go to prison for vote rigging in Armenia. Two other individuals were also arrested for alleged electoral fraud, with both having served as members of precinct electoral commissions. The investigations into these two individuals are reportedly still underway. -------------- JAIL TIME PROOF OF COMBATING ELECTORAL FRAUD? -------------- ¶4. (SBU) High-level officials, including President Sargsian and Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian, have sought to portray the election-related criminal cases as proof of their commitment to combat electoral fraud. PG Hovsepian also made this argument privately to Ambassador Yovanovitch in their June 2 meeting (ref D). The opposition, however, claims that these arrests are solely window-dressing to placate the international community, and argues that those arrested so far are either scapegoats or individuals who agreed to jail time in exchange for money. (COMMENT: It is possible that both of the loyalists might walk free with the expected announcement of a prisoner amnesty by the authorities later today. END COMMENT.) -------------- A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The opposition's claims were boosted by a photograph taken on June 9 and published in the June 10 edition of the radical opposition "Haykakan Zhamanak" daily. The photo shows President Sargsian and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian at a June 9 evening soccer match in Yerevan between Armenia's and Turkey's under-20 soccer teams. President Sargsian is flanked on his right side by two members of parliament who also happen to be two of Armenia's most notorious oligarchs. One is Ruben Hayrapetian, aka "Nemets Rubo," who likely appeared at the match in his capacity as the chairman of Armenia's national soccer federation. The other is Samvel Aleksanian, aka "Lfik Samo." Aleksanian is notorious for his shady business dealings and fiefdom-like control of Yerevan's Malatia-Sebastia district, site of the worst fraud during the recent election as well as in previous elections. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The arrest and conviction of two "small fish" for the fraud that took place on May 31 is, in principle, a positive development, YEREVAN 00000431 002.2 OF 002 though the lightning-quick trials do raise concerns about the legal process that was followed. It is, after all, the first time that anyone has ever faced consequences for Armenia's chronic vote-rigging. However, President Sargsian's decision to appear in public with Aleksanian, the undisputed champion of Armenian electoral fraud, just two days after the June 7 announcement of the official results of the election, raises serious doubts about his professed commitment to improving Armenian elections. At the very least, Sargsian showed terrible judgment about how such a juxtaposition would be perceived. PENNINGTON