The core of the Human Rights Defender’s activity is guaranteeing the right to vote of every citizen. Democratic institutions and state governance systems are formed in the country due to the exercise of this right. The freer and less restricted the possibility of exercising the right to vote is, the greater will be the confidence in the newly composed body which was formed as a result of expression of public will.
The Human Rights Defender’s Office conducts an independent observation of the entire electoral process, taking place in Yerevan, and acts on the basis of the fundamental principles of impartial and apolitical work. Within the framework of this observation, there have been several recorded issues which bring about the necessity to express the Human Rights Defender's position on them. In particular:
1. During the democratic developments in the country in April-May this year, the citizens of Armenia had an opportunity to make fundamental changes due to exercising their public will. At the same time, the role of Nikol Pashinyan - the leader of the movement and the former deputy of National Assembly – was irreplaceable in the preservation of the peaceful nature of the assemblies.
2. The Yerevan City Council elections are a real opportunity to affirm and institutionalize the results of these democratic processes. The accomplished achievements should be preserved and directed to the final democratization of our country as there is no alternative.
3.These events evidently raised the citizens' trust in public authorities. As a result, important and positive developments have been recorded; directions for combating bribery and the illicit cases of illegally influencing the voters have been clarified, an imperative has been proclaimed to exclude the involvement of schools and kindergartens in political processes, and, at the moment, the amount of complaints about the actions of the Police has dropped significantly, etc.
4. Along with this, the monitoring allowed us to identify a number of problems, that arose within the framework of the Yerevan City Council electoral process, and immediate measures should be taken to eliminate them. The opposite situation will be dangerous for the whole human rights protection system.
5. There has been a tendency towards an increase in intolerance, insult and even threats, which were most prominent on social media. They have a negative impact on the atmosphere of solidarity. At the same time, there has been a considerable increase in insulting comments, mostly done by obvious fake users. These comments are strikingly more aggressive and intolerant.
6. This situation also complicates the work of journalists. The examination of journalists' concerns by the Human Rights Defender's Office, indicates that there are intolerant and insulting comments, including ones addressed to the journalists, under publications in the social media platforms, where controversial content or opinions are published.
7. Intolerant attitude between the individual candidates or between the individual supporters of those candidates has been recorded. That intolerance is also expressed by insulting comments, and by disseminating materials that infringe person’s dignity. This is also done through information transmitted from obviously fake or anonymous sources.
For example, insults and even threats to Naira Zohrabyan - a Deputy of National Assembly and a candidate for Mayor of Yerevan – are worrying. The Human Rights Defender's Office has recorded N. Zohrabyan's concerns, including the ones related to the insulting comments, made by the employees of some state bodies on social media. These allegations should immediately become a subject to separate verification to guarantee that the electoral process is carried out with the strict observance of the RA Constitution and laws.
Therefore, the exhortations of all the participants in the electoral process and public authorities, which call for ensuring the atmosphere of solidarity and excluding the intolerant attitude, are particularly important.
8. The tendency to divide the society into groups should be ruled out completely. It is more dangerous when it is done by public authorities. This phenomenon is problematic in regard to the whole system of human rights protection in the country.
9. The electoral process should take place exclusively in the atmosphere of tolerance and solidarity. The Yerevan City Council elections will be the first intermediate opportunity to make the transition to a qualitatively new stage of democratic development. These elections should become a phenomenon that knits the public together, makes us more united and appreciative of the achievements we have recorded.
Tolerance and mutual respect are the guarantees of the effective enjoyment of electoral rights and of the strength of the country's human rights protection system, which is meant to ensure solidarity between generations.