Electoral Preparation and Monitoring by Civil Society Organizations in Armenia:
#Elections4All
With financial support from the European Union, Elections4All project will contribute,
promote and realise a fundamental human right – the right to vote – through a coordinated engagement of civil society organizations and citizens in preparing for and monitoring the election process in Armenia ahead of, during and after the National Assembly elections on 9th December. The project partners will engage citizens, including women, youth, people with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups of society, directly in elections as observers and have their rights as voters at
the centre of all activities.
- Increase knowledge of the electoral procedures targeting specifically the first-time voters and highlighting the importance of transparent and credible elections that translates the will of the voters into political representation.
- The project will provide young people with an opportunity to learn about the current political actors and campaign methods and have a meaningful participation in promoting democratic practices in Armenia.
- Foster an informative dialogue between the political parties and candidates during the election campaign through engaging and capacitating traditional and social media.
- Train and support media representatives to identify and report violations during the election day.
- Carry out alternative monitoring of social media content during the election campaign, sharing the findings and recommendations with the larger public and involving political parties and responsible state authorities for further action to address the identified shortcomings.
- Through domestic election observation, to identify violations during the elections, to generate new knowledge and insights for voters and the general public to have better oversight of the respect for political rights of Armenian citizens.
- Increase the knowledge of persons with disabilities to observe elections and promote the democratic rights of voters with intellectual disabilities and first-time voters with disabilities.
- Raise the awareness and capacities of polling staff to fulfill their obligations towards equal access to political participation, as enshrined in the Electoral Code of Armenia and in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities.
- Empower women as political actors during and after the elections, by compiling evidence on women’s electoral behavior, which will cast light on the acute issues that hinder women’s political and socio-economic energy.
After elections, the project will publish a study analyzing the National Assembly elections from a CSO perspective and some of the more disadvantaged groups of society. This will be a solid contribution to the future discussions on electoral reform in Armenia and how to create an enabling environment for even more inclusive, credible and transparent election cycles in Armenia.
Duration: 01/11/2018 – 30/04/2019 (6 months)
