On 27 May 2022, around 60 people, including stakeholders and beneficiaries took a part in the closing event of the “Early elections 2021: Early elections 2021 – domestic observations and citizens empowerment by civil society’’ project funded by the EU where the main outcomes were presented. During the past year, the project contributed to the improvement of democratic processes in Armenia, promoting equal rights and opportunities for all to participate in the elections.
Frank Hess, the Head of the Cooperation Section of the EU Delegation in Armenia, Nune Hovhannisyan, a member of the RA Central Electoral Commission, and Margarita Hakobyan, the Executive Director of the OxYGen Foundation, welcomed the participants of the event.
The beneficiaries of the project, including people with disabilities and first-time voters also participated in the event and had their input during thematic discussions.
Karen Ayvazyan, the Program Manager of the OxYGen Foundation, presented the outcomes of different components of the project, which were reached due to the efforts of partner organizations. The project impact has been recorded in different aspects of the project such as observation during the national and local elections, a public awareness-raising campaign, the inclusion of vulnerable groups and youth in electoral processes, policy development, and empowerment of citizens.
During the project among other actions the following activities have been carried out:
- Systematic control and monitoring of the 2021 RA local and national level elections. 1212 trained observers carried out observation in 1297 polling stations and 38 Territorial electoral commissions (TEC). As a result of the observation, a comprehensive analysis was carried out for further improvement of the electoral processes in Armenia.
- Full engagement and empowerment of persons with disabilities in electoral processes. Mobile ramps were installed in 9 polling centers, 310 members of polling stations were trained, more than 40 persons with disabilities were trained and participated in the observation mission.
Karine Bekchyan, the beneficiary of the project and a member of the “Lusastgh” NGO noted: “I was so excited and inspired by this project: the status of being a person with disabilities had changed for some time”.
- 2 studies were carried out, and 5 policy proposals were developed to be presented to the decision-makers, which refer to the inclusion of persons with disabilities in electoral processes, the inclusion of women, the impact of elections on the environment, etc.
- Youth participation in elections was encouraged, paying special attention to first-time voters. More than 530 teachers were trained to carry out election simulations at schools with the modern methodology of electoral and civic education, and 8,500 students participated in the simulation and acquired a clearer understanding of democratic electoral processes, their rights and responsibilities as first-time voters.
In his speech Vardan Umbreyan, a student at school no. 182 in Yerevan, mentioned: “This project really helped us to become more self-motivated and creative, we started to emphasize teamwork. I was keen on the idea that the future of our country mainly depends on our votes and the quality of the elections.”
- Actions were carried out aiming to raise awareness of the wider public about electoral processes and the role of electoral bodies and monitoring mechanisms. In particular, 21 young journalists were trained on the coverage of election processes, about 115 articles, infographics, and 8 informational materials on voters’ rights (promotional videos and billboards) were published, 2 media monitoring reports were prepared with relevant recommendations.
During the event, thematic discussions were carried out with the participation of beneficiaries and implementing partners of the project. The discussions were on the observations of the elections in Armenia in 2021, and the inclusiveness and use of environmentally friendly practices during elections.
“Early Elections 2021 – Domestic Observations and Citizens Empowerment by Civil Society” project is implemented by OxYGen Foundation, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor, Union of Informed Citizens and Yerevan School of Political Studies as well as Investigative Journalists NGO, Lusastgh NGO, Agate” Center for the Protection of Rights of Women with Disabilities, Innovative Center for Sustainable Community Development NGO, “Women’s Information-Analytical Network” NGO, and “Arar Art” NGO. The Project is funded by the European Union.
The full video recording of the event is available here.
The policy Documents developed in the frames of the Project:
- Summary of the results of the observation mission performed on 5 December 2021 in Lori region during the local self-government elections
- National assembly and local self-gevernment elections-2021: peculiarities of women’s electoral behaviour
- Recommendations on promoting political and civic rights of people with disabilities in Shirak marz
- Elections and Environment։ Establishing Policy Framework for Elections Waste Management
- Objective and effective coverage of the electoral process: problems and obstacles
