Armenia: Military Voting

RFE/RL reports somewhat alarmingly given concerns with military voting that Defense Minister Mikael Harutiunian has stated that he is sure the majority of soldiers will vote for the prime minister, Serge Sargsyan, in next month’s presidential election.

Past elections have been typified by soldiers being marched to vote by their commanding officers and sometimes at multiple polling stations.

Moreover, the electoral code explicitly prohibits officials from using their positions to campaign on behalf of candidates.

Harutiunian argued that before becoming prime minister last spring Sarkisian for years served as Armenia’s defense minister and did a lot to strengthen its Armed Forces. “I support Serzh Sarkisian’s candidacy because I regard Serzh Sarkisian as a person who can govern our state, become commander-in-chief and who will be able to make decisions and lead the army if, God forbid, a war breaks out,” the former chief of the Armenian army staff, told reporters.

Voting by the military has been a major source of irregularities that have marred Armenian elections held over the past decade, with army conscripts allegedly forced by their commanders to vote for pro-government presidential candidates and political parties running for parliament. The Armenian authorities have always denied such allegations backed up by local and foreign election observers.