There will be elections on Sunday in Yerevan, Armenia’s capital. The poll will be the first test of Armenian democracy since the February 2008 presidential election, which was marred by irregularities and culminated in a violent confrontation between the authorities and the opposition.
Elections in the former Soviet Union are stolen all the time, but governments get away with it by stifling democratic institutions. Western leaders need to support struggling civil societies in the region, before there is nothing left to support.
There will be elections on Sunday in Yerevan, Armenia’s capital. The poll will be the first test of Armenian democracy since the February 2008 presidential election, which was marred by irregularities and culminated in a violent confrontation between the authorities and the opposition.
Elections in the former Soviet Union are stolen all the time, but governments get away with it by stifling democratic institutions. Western leaders need to support struggling civil societies in the region, before there is nothing left to support.