On April 8, 2013, Policy Forum Armenia (PFA) organized a roundtable discussion on “Election Fraud, Civil Society Awakening, and the Diaspora’s Role”, which took place at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC. Speakers included PFA Executive Board Member, Dr. Zaven Kalayjian, Chairman of Armenian Bar Association, Garo Ghazarian, Esq., and Civil Society Activist, Alex Sardar. Dr. Hrach Gregorian, President of Institute of World Affairs, moderated the discussion.

In his presentation PFA’s Dr. Kalayjian presented PFA’s analysis of February 2013 presidential election in Armenia that shed light on the mechanics of the election fraud and supplemented it by findings of other independent analysts. ABA's Chairman Garo Ghazarian talked about violations that he observed during the election campaign, like illegal use of public buildings for campaign posters and abuse of administrative power by the ruling party.  Civil Society Activist Alex Sardar talked about fraud and intimidation at the polling stations during the election, as well as the role of activists and the Diaspora in the future of Armenia. 

A lively question-and-answer session followed (video).

Download Zaven Kalayjian's Presentation.

Pictures from the event are availabel from the Photo Gallery.