�Judge by the stir created on the Electoral Code (EC) we can conclude whether the authorities are eager to hold just and fair elections or not,� says Shavarsh Kocharyan, head of the National Democratic Party (NDP) board. He claims that there will be multiple frauds in the forthcoming elections.
Today, Mr. Kocharyan focused on three important issues which give us an opportunity to imagine what objectives the authorities pursue while endorsing the amendments to the RA EC.
Mr. Kocharyan asked the Venice Committee the question whether there is any connection between the elections and the EC. It turns out that �the EC is a necessary but not sufficient precondition for just and transparent elections.�
The second question refers to the ratio of proportional and majoritarian systems.
All post-Soviet countries, passing on to the democracy, have chosen proportional system, whereas the countries striving to have dictatorship are inclined to majoritarian system. Azerbaijan is a brilliant illustration which has passed on to the 10- percent majoritarian system,� says Mr. Kocharyan.
Shavarsh Kocharyan underlines the importance of forming election committees as a precondition for just and transparent elections. He says that both the authorities and the Opposition representatives must have equal seats in the committees and there must be equality among the administration. �If the head of the committee is a high-rank official, his deputy and secretary must be from the opposition and the vise versa.�
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.