Helsinki Committee President Avetik Ishkhanyan told reporters today in Yerevan that what will be taking place on February 18 will merely be a ballot procedure and not an election.

 In other words, voters will be casting their ballots in a meaningless process.

Ishkhanyan said that while he respected the candidates running against the incumbent Sargsyan, none had the human or financial resources to staff the election precincts with an adequate number of monitors.

He likened the situation in Armenia as differing both from democratic countries and dictatorial ones.

The fact that what will take place on February 18 is purely a ballot, not a true election, reminds one of the situation in authoritarian regimes. On the other hand, in authoritarian countries, any possibility of freedom of speech and assembly is ruled out, which isn’t the case in Armenia.

Ishkhanyan placed a part of the blame on the fact that political parties in Armenia haven’t fully developed and that the private business sector is also not totally free.