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Armenia still lacks political will for reforms

20 December 2013 [12:38] - TODAY.AZ
By AzerNews

In Armenia, neither the authorities nor the society show the slightest commitment and effort in the fight against corruption, the second National Integrity System assessment of Armenia shows.

"Armenia is behind even some African countries in terms of fight against corruption," said Varuzhan Hoktanyan, Director of Transparency International Armenia Anti-Corruption Center, who has introduced the assessment.

The corrupt spheres in the society are judiciary, health, and regulation of public services, and both the society and the authorities are responsible for the spread of this evil, he added.

Over the past years, the international organization Transparency International has expressed serious concern regarding corruption in Armenia in its reports, while the country has taken no step to fight corruption.

The government, unfortunately, has not shown the strength of will to fight corruption, Hoktanyan stressed.

"Firstly, the authorities have not shown any political will to solve this problem and, secondly, the society is also passive in this regard," he said.

Presented on December 16, the second National Integrity System assessment of Armenia shows that the National Integrity System evaluates key 'pillars' in a country's governance system, both in terms of their internal corruption risks and their contribution to fighting corruption in society at large. The pillars analyzed in a National Integrity System assessment typically include: Legislative branch of government, Executive branch of government, Judiciary, Public sector, Law enforcement, Electoral management body, Ombudsman, Audit institution, Anti-corruption agencies, Political parties, Media, Civil society, and Business.

The second National Integrity System also finds out how government institutions protect the interests of citizens and how effectively the legislation is applied in practice.

"Preliminary results testify that the National Integrity System in Armenia is weak, firstly due to the insufficient level of lawapplication in the country," Hoktanyan said.

The survey was conducted in 2009-2013 to find out if the given institutions protect the interests of citizens and how effectively the legislation is applied in practice. The final results of the National Integrity System assessment will be published by the end of the year, Hoktanyan said.

In Armenia, there is an imitation of reforms, and the level of independence in all the institutions, except the president and the government, is very low, Hoktanyan said.

The National Integrity System clearly indicates that the country lacks material and human resources, and coordination and interactions between separate basic institutions.

The reason for such poor results is the low level of the authorities' accountability to the public, Hoktanyan said, recalling the unfair elections held in the country.

He also cited weak economy and insufficient political and economic competition among the reasons affecting the National integrity system in Armenia.

The presidential elections in Armenia in February 2013 were remembered with a number of drawbacks, meeting with strong protests from the voters.

Ahead of the Election Day, head of the Union for National Self-Determination and Armenian presidential candidate Paruyr Hayrikyan was shot. After the elections, thousands of people protested in Yerevan against the re-election of President Serzh Sarksyan.

The scandalous presidential elections were also harshly criticized by international organizations. OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) stated that the Election Day in Armenia was marked by undue interference in the process, mainly by proxies representing the incumbent government and some serious violations including cases of pressure on voters were observed.

The U.S. Department of State shared the OSCE/ODIHR's concerns.

Armenia's electoral standards were strongly criticized by Hoktanyan in all the public discussions in Yerevan. He thinks Armenia has its own standards in holding elections.

"Armenia has its instrument for the falsification of elections - pre-election bribes, inflated voter lists, the incompetence of election commission members, which proxies use in favor of one candidate," he said recently.

Hoktanyan introduced the results of corruption barometer for 2013 in July, saying public officials and courts and health sectors are most corrupt in Armenia, with the police taking the next place.

"Only 37 percent in Armenia believe that ordinary citizen can affect the anti-corruption struggle. Armenia takes the 104th place among 107 countries at this point. The number of applicants to participate in the anti-corruption campaign is 43 percent, which is an absolute record. Our population is not willing to fight against corruption".

The high level of corruption is a frequent topic for discussions and concerns in Armenia. Armenia's ombudsman has also criticized recently the level of corruption in the country. What complicates the situation is the fact that the Armenian government is in no hurry to make inferences from important reports, as the last development shows.

It should be mentioned that reforms in Armenia are mainly carried out on the eve of elections or just before the elections, as Transparency International showed in 2010, so the next imitation of fight against corruption will not happen sooner than the next elections, which is still a long time in coming.
URL: http://www.today.az/news/analytics/129325.html

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