VZCZCXRO7977
RR RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHSK RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHYE #0341/01 1391344
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191344Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9073
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION WASHINGTON DC
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 0729
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1772
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0783

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000341 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM KJUS AM
SUBJECT: CONSTITUTIONAL COURT WEIGHS IN ON YEREVAN ELECTION 
 
YEREVAN 00000341  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) On May 8, Armenia's Constitutional Court agreed with the 
arguments of the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) in its 
appeal that voters without actual registration in a locality should 
not be included on voter lists during local elections.  This 
decision flies in the face of alleged ruling party attempts to 
falsify the upcoming Yerevan municipal election by bussing in voters 
from outside the capital to cast ballots.  While the Constitutional 
Court decision does not rule out the possibility of tainted 
elections come May 31, it does represent a victory for judicial 
independence in Armenia.  END SUMMARY. 
 
----------------------------------- 
CONFLICTING ELECTORAL CODE ARTICLES 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) One of the articles in Armenia's Electoral Code stipulates 
that the heads of local governments in Armenia are to be elected by 
citizens who have resided in a particular community for a year. 
There is another article in the same code, however, that sets no 
minimum residency requirements for voters living in Yerevan.  In 
spite of the first article's one-year residency threshold, Armenia's 
Central Electoral Commission (CEC) cited the second article and had 
been allowing community administrations and police departments in 
Yerevan to include all city residents - even those who had just 
arrived -- on the voter lists to be used in the May 31 election. 
 
-------------------------------- 
ANC APPEALS CEC'S INTERPRETATION 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The ANC led by former President Levon Ter-Petrossian 
denounced the CEC's interpretation of the Electoral Code in late 
April, when it found out it was allowing the registration of all 
residents living in Yerevan, and stated that the clause invoked by 
the CEC was unconstitutional.   After the Central Electoral 
Commission (CEC) and the administrative court of appeals dismissed 
the ANC's claims, the ANC appealed to the Constitutional Court to 
declare the CEC interpretation null and void. 
 
¶4. (SBU) In its appeal, the ANC argued that the CEC had 
misinterpreted the Electoral Code in such as a way as to effectively 
allow the ruling party (Republican Party of Armenia) to bus voters 
from Armenia's provinces into Yerevan to vote.  Without a 
requirement that voters be officially registered in Yerevan, the CEC 
thereby would have permitted voters who do not reside in Yerevan to 
vote in its local elections. 
 
------------------------------------ 
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT AGREES WITH ANC 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) In its May 8 decision, the Court overruled the CEC's 
interpretation, siding with the ANC.  In its press release 
announcing the decision, the Constitutional Court "considered the 
argument of the applicant, stating that non-registered persons 
cannot be included in the voter lists for the elections of local 
self-governing bodies, to be justified."  The press release also 
stated that "the Court also determined that in the course of the 
practical application of law, Article 10.3(1) of the Election Code 
of Armenia has been interpreted in a way that also persons not 
residing in the given community can be included in the voter lists 
for the elections of local self-governing bodies.  This does not 
stem from the constitutional-legal content of local self-governance. 
 The mentioned norm is only applicable to national elections for the 
preparation of the voter lists by communities, and does not create 
any issues with regard to the latter." 
 
---------------------------------------- 
CEC AMENDS ELECTION SCHEDULE AS A RESULT 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) As a result of the Constitutional Court's ruling on Article 
10 of the Electoral Code, the CEC on May 11 made corresponding 
changes to the public election schedule.  These changes included the 
elimination of the date that had been previously listed as a 
deadline for community heads and Armenia's Passport and Visa 
Department (OVIR) to include non-registered voters into voter 
lists. 
 
----------------------------------- 
BUT POTENTIAL FOR FRAUD STILL LOOMS 
----------------------------------- 
 
YEREVAN 00000341  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Court also addressed Article 2 of the Election Code, 
which stipulates a requirement of at least one year residence in a 
given local community in order to be eligible to vote in that 
locality's election.  The CEC had interpreted this one-year 
limitation to apply to non-Armenian citizens only, thereby exempting 
Armenian citizens.  The Constitutional Court's opinion on this issue 
was vague, and allows room for various interpretations, leaving the 
final decision to OVIR, which is responsible for registering 
residents.  When the Embassy contacted OVIR to see how they would 
interpret the Court's decision, the head of its legal department 
stated that in spite of the the CEC's interpretation, OVIR plans to 
include on voter lists only those individuals who have resided in 
Yerevan for at least a year, regardless of their citizenship. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Despite the Constitutional Court's ruling, the ANC still 
believes that the authorities will find a way to bring ineligible 
voters from Armenia's regions into Yerevan on Election Day.  One way 
they say this could be done is to register "ghost voters" at the 
same residence located in Yerevan.  The ANC alleged to Emboffs on 
May 18 that this has already begun, with some residents reporting to 
them that dozens of unknown people are being registered as being 
residents in an individual apartment located in their buildings. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) The Constitutional Court's ruling is welcome news, 
especially as it showed a rare glimmer of judicial independence from 
the executive branch.  But vote tampering is a refined art in 
Armenia that evolves and becomes more sophisticated with time.  With 
this in mind, the Court decision may prove to be an irritant rather 
than an insurmountable obstacle for those intent on falsifying the 
election. 
 
 
YOVANOVITCH