RIGHT TURN, LEFT TURN, ABOUT TURN: ARMY IS VOTING

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All over the world a citizens is deprived of a franchise in two cases: either according to a court decision or he is recognized as incapable. A soldier possesses the same rights as any other voter, that is why in other states he does not differ from the electorate. In case of passive right – the right of being elected – some limitations are applied to the UK military. For instance, a serviceman cannot come forward as a candidate in a constituency, where has worked for a period of time in order to exclude any kind of negative interferences. If the military are not allowed to take part in the elections they will not be represented in the parliament or any other governmental bodies. It is the same as to deprive firemen, doctors or teacher of the vote. In the post-soviet states, including Armenia, the picture is quite different. ''Among some negative phenomena the problem of the military is badly aggravated. The persons, who are on a fixed service are much more dependent on the political powers and it is much easier to guide them. The experience shows that that servicemen unanimously vote for the representative or party supported by the incumbent leadership. During the elections they vote as if according to orders like ''to the left'', ''to the right'' or ''about turn'', candidate of juridical science Hrayr Tovmasyan says.

In Tovmasyan’s opinion, taking into account the low level of the legal culture in our society one cannot demand much from a 18-year-old soldier, who is going to vote for the first time in his life. ''The number of the pollers in Armenia does not exceed 800-900 thousand. The number of people on service for a fixed period makes 60 thousand, that is 6-7% of the electorate. It means that during any elections the party or candidate nominated by the authorities has 60 thousand votes. In a country like ours the role of the army is exaggerated, since on the political arena the positions of all the ministers are not restricted by the post they occupy. Serge Sargsyan's appointment as the Defense Minister was not accidental in 1998 and the fact that today he has a great influence and is perceived as the future President is not accidental either'', Hrayr Tovmasyan noted.

In countries like Armenia the legislation provides for some standards in order to avoid partial voting. ''It is banned to open polling stations in the military units. The soldiers are to vote in the constituencies in accord with the location of their bases. The soldiers should not enter the polling station in a line – they should feel free. At the moment of the voting procedure his commanders should not be near him. However we, Armenians, are very smart. Besides the fact that they are entering the constituency in line, they are also given pens with colored ink and are forced to vote'', Tovmasyan stressed. In Armenia the persons serving a military service for a fixed period do not participate either in the elections of the local self-government or the NA election on majority rule. ''The principle of equal franchise fixed by the Constitution and international standards according to which all voter have equal rights is being violated in Armenia. Presently the issues regarding the constituencies where all the soldiers are vote as one are being examined. However the candidate supported by the authorities has need to launch a campaign – it is enough to settle the question with the commander”, Tovmasyan said adding that the problem cannot be solved by depriving the soldiers of the franchise for local self-government or NA elections according to majority rule.

New efficient resolution should be found. A 18-year-soldier must be sure that he is not controlled by higher commanders. ''A pickpocket and the one, who orders to falsify the elections must be treated the same way – as they are both thieves. Otherwise will never have fair elections’’, Hrayr Tovmasyan assures. He does not agree with statement that the people were not allowed to express their will. “It means that the people have not realized the value of their vote yet’’, he considers. By Victoria Abrahamyan