Improvements in the electoral process within the context of amendments to the electoral code of the republic of Armenia

Abstract

After the breakdown of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia was under the demand to completely reform its legislation. Election legislation is key to legal reform, given that all new democracies begin with the development of a new Electoral Code, based on which election processes are further developed and applied. Armenia’s first Electoral Code was adopted in 1999, following which consecutive national elections were held. Since then, the Electoral Code of the RoA underwent a serious evolution that stemmed from practical implementation. Almost all national elections in Armenia within the 15 years of its independence had shortfalls provided that the country’s institutions were still nascent and required time and effort for complete formation. The international community led by OSCE/ODIHR observation mission by and large labeled the elections preceding the latest 2007 parliamentary elections (except the ones in 1991) as either free but not fair or not free and not fair, and thus falling short of internationally accepted norms and standards. In response to the OSCE criticism, the Government of Armenia took charge to improve the Electoral Code and a series of laws as part of the Council of Europe obligation and as measure to improve its institutions and systems that constitute an integral part of a democratic society. Changes in the latest version of the Electoral Code passed in March 2007 lead to a significant improvement of the overall election process manifested during the May 2007 parliamentary elections which according to the OSCE/ODHIR report, lays a solid and comprehensive foundation for free and fair elections. However, there is still room for procedural improvement to ensure smooth implementation of the electoral processes. Taking into account the above-written, the purpose of this Policy Internship Project paper is to: - analyze to what extent have these changes contributed to the improvement of the electoral processes. - underline the dynamics of improvement of the Electoral legislation and the Electoral process, the derelictions and omissions - make proposals in the direction of the further improvement of the Electoral Legislation.