Campaigning in Armenia Ends on Rancorous Note Ahead of March 5 Presidential Run-Off
Both presidential candidates in Armenia mobilized their supporters, as campaigning ahead of a March 5 run-off wound down on a rancorous note. Meanwhile, the Central Election Commission, which drew broad international criticism for its handling of the first round of voting, has announced that preliminary run-off results will take at least two days to compile.
Under Armenia's election law, March 3 was the last day of campaigning before the run-off. Both President Robert Kocharian and his challenger Stepan Demirchian addressed campaign rallies that drew tens of thousands of supporters at separate venues in Yerevan. Kocharian and Demirchian also participated in a heated, televised debate.
During the campaign rallies, both candidates assailed the other side. Casting himself as the defender of Armenian stability, Kocharian called for a "convincing victory that no one can challenge." He went on to accuse Demirchian supporters of "attempting to destabilize the situation in Armenia and to pit people against each other."
Kocharian also defended the government's decision to detain an estimated 200 Demirchian campaign aides for organizing unsanctioned political rallies. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. "Only harsh, yet restrained steps would allow us to avoid such a course [instability]," Kocharian said.
Several international organizations, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the US-based National Democratic Institute (NDI), condemned the arrests. "The unequal application of administrative and criminal punishment during a political campaign testifies to political discrimination, which violates international norms," an NDI statement said. Armenia's Justice Ministry reported March 3 that 48 of the 86 opposition activists sentenced to administrative detention had been released upon appeal of the original sentence, according to the Arminfo news agency.
Meanwhile, Demirchian framed the run-off as a choice between "democracy and dictatorship." The opposition candidate maintained that the results of the first round of elections were rigged. In an earlier newspaper interview, published March 1 in the Aravot newspaper, Demirchian said the public outcry over broad voting violations prevented the election commission from stealing the February 19 first round for Kocharian. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archives].
"The determination of our public and the estimations of the [election] monitors prevented the authorities from finishing the elections in the first round and proclaiming Robert Kocharian president," he said.
"There is no doubt that the authorities will commit violations [on March 5], although they are not even sure that they will able to settle their problems through violations, as they did not manage to do this in the first round, which is why they have opted for open terror, arrests etc.," Demirchian added. "I would only like to say once again that the authorities who fight against their own people are doomed."
Kocharian and Demirchian confronted each other March 3 in a live debate broadcast on state television. It was uncertain whether the debate would take place, right up until air time citing his disapproval with the format, Demirchian had earlier declined to participate. During the debate, which touched on a wide range of foreign policy and domestic issues, the candidates argued directly with each other over the tone and substance of their responses.
With the campaign officially over, public attention turned on March 4 to the Central Election Commission, which will oversee the run-off. Commission head Artak Sagradian told Arminfo that preliminary results would not be available earlier than the evening of March 7. It could take as many as six days for the release of voting results, in the event that complaints are filed over the voting and ballot-counting process, Sagradian added.
Complaints about ballot-stuffing and other violations during the February 19 first round has fueled a sharp rise in political tension in Armenia over the past two weeks. At opposition rally venues, authorities have deployed riot police, water cannons and barbed wire in response to concern about unrest.
However, the mood at both March 3 rallies seemed to reflect more anticipation than tension. Kocharian's event, the only major rally staged on the president's behalf since the February 19 first round, featured pomp and circumstance, opened by a parade of groups carrying flags and banners of political parties and local businesses that support his candidacy.
One participant, Khachig Gregorian, who traveled to Yerevan from Gumri and identified himself as loyalist of the Dashnaktsutyun Party, expressed confidence that Kocharian would secure reelection. "His policies will continue to bring revolutionary change to Armenia. We are happy and confident that he will achieve victory in the second round," Gregorian said.
At the opposition gathering, as was the case at many of the previous opposition rallies over the last two weeks, several first-round presidential candidates endorsed Demirchian. A woman from Yerevan, who identified herself only as Anahid, echoed the sentiments of many Kocharian critics. "We want the elections to be clean and just, without any falsifications," she said.
Nicole Vartanian is a freelance writer based in Yerevan.
Sign up for Eurasianet's free weekly newsletter. Support Eurasianet: Help keep our journalism open to all, and influenced by none.