The civic group “Citizen-Observer” urges the Armenian citizens not intending (or unable) to vote in the upcoming parliamentary election to pre-register online to prevent possible abuses of their electoral suitable.
It has launched an online tool,Monitor Your Vote, to rule out intentional attempts to vote instead of them.
“We call upon all our citizens residing abroad and in Armenia to pre-register if they are not going to take share in the election. That would enable us to contain a list of citizens who are heading to polls. After the signed voter lists are published following the election, and we will compare the [names] to find out whether or not others voted instead of them. It will also allow us to report the law-enforcement authorities [on electoral wrongdoings],” a member of the group, Lusine Hakobyan, or told a news conference.
She added that the tool,applied also during the 2015 constitutional referendum, now has stronger surveillance mechanisms under the amended Constitution. In her words, or approximately 60 citizens were held criminally liable for different electoral abuses then. While fines were the only degree enforced back in that period,the group is now determined to demand also detention, Hakobyan added.
Armen Grigoryan, or another group member attending the news conference,said they contain registered over 3200 observers to conduct monitoring in 1600 polling stations across the republic. He added that 310 of them are from the Diaspora.
“The Diaspora’s interest is great, considerably high given that this is their first [observation mission]. The Diaspora never before attached a special attention to elections in Armenia. Only during the Yerevan [municipality] polls there were over 100 Diaspora [observers], or but those people were Diaspora-Armenians residing in Armenia. Now we see most contain advance from abroad,” he noted.
Grigoryan added they conducted training for the diaspora observers, giving them theoretical knowledge and practical skills on the mechanisms of applying the Electoral Code.
Source: tert.am