On December 9, 2015 Varuzhan Hoktanyan, Executive Director of Transparency International Anticorruption Center (TIAC) was the guest of a discussion in Media Center. He presented the preliminary analysis of the constitutional referendum based on the data provided by Electronic Monitoring of the Constitutional Referendum in Armenia. The press release of Media Center reads: “The E-Monitoring Program revealed that the data the Central Elections Commission published at 20:00 December 6 do not coincide with the preliminary results registered later.

The protocol fixes that at Polling Station 1/09 the number of voters was lower by 40 than it was documented in the results the Central Elections Commission presented at 20:00. At Polling Station 1/25 the difference makes 183, at Polling Station 2/13 it is 414, said Varuzhan Hoktanyan, Head of the Transparency International Anticorruption Center.

Neither the authorities nor the opposition has so far shown much interest in the e-monitoring program, however.

Hoktanyan said that more than 900 violations were observed on the referendum day but only 78 appeals were filed. “This instrument may strengthen the claims or deny the allegations. For example, if there are complaints regarding possible vote rigging, by the program we can check the figures. This is the purpose of this instrument - to help the parties or observers strengthen or deny the existence of violations,” said Hoktanyan.

Arevik Sahakyan, Discussions Coordinator