Armenia election chief warns observers against political campaigning

Armenia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has said that election observers are not permitted to engage in political campaigning or express political views.

Speaking at a press conference, CEC Chairman Vaagn Hovakimyan said observer missions must remain politically neutral throughout the electoral process, Caliber.Az reports per Armenian media.

His comments followed a call by Daniel Ioannisyan, a representative of the “Independent Observer” bloc, to annul the registration of several observer missions.

Hovakimyan said discussions had been held to ensure that observer groups did not cross the line into political activity.

“It was important to have an open dialogue so that observer missions do not engage in politics,” he said. “If a non-governmental organisation intends to take part in political activity, which it has every right to do, then it should not register as an observer mission.”

He added that, during the meeting, an understanding had been reached on this issue. According to Hovakimyan, the observer mission at the centre of the discussion acknowledged that the concerns raised were justified.

The head of the election commission also pointed to provisions in Armenia’s Electoral Code. Article 30, he said, explicitly prohibits observer organisations from expressing political positions, while Article 23 bans observers from engaging in election campaigning altogether.

Hovakimyan said that the agreement reached was respected on polling day, with observer organisations refraining from any form of political campaigning at polling stations.