Turmoil has often come after Armenia’s elections

by Tatul Hakobyan

Published: Saturday March 08, 2008

Elections in Armenia have often been followed by problems. Photolure

Yerevan - As the violent riots broke out in Yerevan on March 1, President Robert Kocharian signed a decree announcing a state of emergency, prohibiting meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches, and other mass events.

This is the second time that a state of emergency has been introduced since Armenia gained independence. The first time was also in connection with elections and Levon Ter-Petrossian; only this time he switched his role.

In the September 22, 1996, presidential elections in Armenia, according to official data, Mr. Ter-Petrossian won with almost 52 percent of the vote. Vazgen Manukian, the candidate of the united opposition, who had received 41 percent of the vote, disputed the results and put Mr. Ter-Petrossian's re-election under suspicion. The European organizations stressed that the elections had taken place with blatant falsifications and did not comply with international standards.

On September 25, the opposition attacked the National Assembly building, where the Central Electoral Commission was then located. Babken Ararktsian, the Speaker of the parliament, and his deputy, Ara Sahakian, were beaten and were taken to the hospital with various injuries. The next day Mr. Ter-Petrossian's supporters beat up opposition parliament members inside the National Assembly hall, and eight members of parliament lost their political immunity.

On September 26, Mr. Ter-Petrossian signed a decree prohibiting marches, demonstrations, and rallies. Vazgen Sarkisian, the defense minister announced that after the September 25 events, the Armed Forces would not recognize Mr. Manukian as president, "even if he had won 100 percent of the vote." Armored vehicles entered the center of Yerevan. The state of emergency, which had been set for ten days, was extended for another five days and was removed on October 10 when, in Mr. Ter-Petrossian's words, "the constitutional order of the country was no longer at risk."

This correspondent asked Mr. Manukian why had he not demonstrated more resolve in 1996 and had not tried to fight to the end. "Had we been any more resolute than we already were, that could have been destructive for Armenia," Mr. Manukian said. "We entered and seized the National Assembly. If we had demonstrated further resolve and seized the president's mansion and changed the regime at the cost of life, it would not have made Armenia a more democratic country.

"Some of the people opposing us had so much resoluteness that increasing our own would not have changed anything. Maybe we could have used more clever methods, but our problem was not the deficit of resoluteness."
Out of the five presidential elections of Armenia, the one in 2003 was also scandalous, when international organizations cast doubt on their freedom and fairness. According to the preliminary results, Mr. Kocharian won outright with more than 50 percent of the vote.

However, under pressure from opposition rallies and the international community, the authorities invalidated the results in a number of precincts, leaving Mr. Kocharian with 49.5 percent of the vote, as a result of which there had to be a run-off. The incumbent's re-election in the run-off, by a wide margin, was also criticized by international organizations as not complying with European standards.

A few years ago when this correspondent asked the defeated candidate Stepan Demirchian why had he not fought to the end when he had had the people's support and the international community had criticized the process of the elections, he simply admitted, "I was afraid of clashes and bloodshed."

The Rose Revolution in Georgia in late 2003 inspired the opposition in Armenia. In the spring of 2004 demonstrations, marches, and rallies began, and the opposition made no secret of its preparation for a "colored" revolution.

In the early hours of April 13, when the protestors tried to reach the presidential residence on Baghramian Avenue with the probable intention of surrounding it, the armed forces suppressed them brutally with the use of water cannons and explosives. The unexpected attack of the special forces, armed with truncheons, and the beatings that followed, forced thousands of people to run in panic. Dozens of protestors received injuries.

The calmest presidential elections in Armenia took place on October 16, 1991, when Mr. Ter-Petrossian was elected the first president of the country with more than 83 percent of the vote. There was no doubt that Mr. Ter-Petrossian could win without any falsifications since he did not face any serious opposition.

But just months after the elections, many were already refusing to admit, or were ashamed of admitting, that they had voted in Mr. Ter-Petrossian's favor. The latter's popularity was swiftly dropping.

The special elections of 1998, in which then-Prime Minister Kocharian beat Karen Demirchian in two rounds, also proceeded largely calmly. Although the international community did not offer any praise, there were also no postelection demonstrations. And even though Karen Demirchian did not congratulate Mr. Kocharian, he also did not dispute the results of the election in court, and later forged an alliance with the government.

Parliamentary elections in Armenia also do not always pass without scandals. At least two out of the five parliamentary elections have been accompanied with violence and deaths.

On May 20, 1990, when the Soviet Union was still intact, the Supreme Council's elections took place in Armenia. For the first time in the seven-decade history of Soviet Armenia, free elections took place and the Communist Party and the Armenian National Movement (ANM) received almost equal mandates.

Twenty-four people were killed on May 27, in a clash with a group of military guards at the Yerevan train station. According to the official point of view, a group of people had tried to take weapons from the military guards accompanying the Kapan-Yerevan train, and were fired on and killed.