The head of Armenia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has praised Sunday’s by-elections to the National Assembly in two constituencies as democratic, saying that no formal complaints had been filed by the defeated candidates yet. “I think the elections were in full compliance with the requirements of the Election Code and that citizens managed to fully exercise their rights and express their will,” said Tigran Mukuchyan on ArmNews TV.
The CEC chairman spoke about the elections in constituencies N. 1 (covering Avan and Nor-Nork communities of Yerevan) and No. 35 (in the northern Shirak province of Armenia) held to fill the vacant seats in the National Assembly following the resignations of two lawmakers.
In both cases candidates from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia won the elections by a landslide.
The opposition candidates in both districts called the elections undemocratic, claiming that vote-buying and administrative pressure had been heavily used by their pro-establishment rivals, which affected the outcome of the polls.
Full Article: Armenian election official praises conduct of by-elections amid complaints from opposition – Politics | ArmeniaNow.com.
