U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans penned an op-ed on the Referendum, which appeared in several Armenian newspapers today.

DAY OF DECISION

Much has been said and written about the forthcoming referendum on the proposed amendments to the Constitution that will take place on Sunday. I do not intend to debate the merits of the package that will be put to Armenia’s voters; our position is well known and we support the recent statement of the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in this matter. But I do wish to make clear that, in our view, a time of civic responsibility is at hand. How the authorities and the voting population of the Republic of Armenia conduct their affairs over the next few days is, of course, an internal matter. But in today’s shrunken world, where news travels at the speed of light, what happens here will inevitably become known and influence opinion in places far away, for better or for worse. History has shown more than once that it is not enough, in a democracy, to have fine words on paper enshrined in a fundamental law, or constitution…

…Armenia has an opportunity this Sunday to demonstrate that it can conduct a ballot without irregularity. We hope all of Armenia’s eligible voters will exercise their civic duty. If there is any lesson that ought to have been learned from the events of the last few years, in both hemispheres, it is that defrauding the voters, or preventing them from exercising their right to express their choice, hurts the country, its citizens and the incumbent authorities. Even in the case of elections or referenda that are adequately monitored by trained and experienced international election observers, much inevitably depends on the seriousness and sense of responsibility of the officials whose job it is to administer and oversee the process of voting. If they do an honest and effective job, everyone will win, no matter what the final result may be. If, on the contrary, there are serious irregularities, everyone will lose…