Armenian Elections: (Sometimes) Free and (Kind of) Fair

On May 12, Armenians turned out in large numbers to vote in a new parliament in the first election in that country to be labeled as free and fair by the international observers. I was forunate enough to be a part of that observation mission, as one of nearly four hundred Short Term Observers (STOs) serving as the eyes and ears in all parts of the country for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR). It was a distinct honor to be able to participate in the international bonanza that was the OSCE/ODIHR’s Election Observation Mission in Armenia, and I relish the opportunity to serve in this capacity in the future.

My experience in Armenia differed slightly from the official characterization of the elections, which described the vote as “conducted largely in accordance with OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and other international standards for democratic elections” (view the preliminary OSCE/ODIHR report here). While the initial findings do mention some “shortcomings,” they fail to mention the unabashed and light-hearted attitude with which the Precinct Election Commission to which I was assigned blatantly committed election fraud while counting the votes and completing the results protocols.

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