The draft amendments’ prohibition of entrepreneurial activity in Article 10 of the draft amendments also affects political parties’ media activities. While the Law still allows political parties to “establish mass media and publishing houses” (Article 21 para 1 (3) of the Law), Article 10 of the draft amendments is likely to prohibit commercial media outlets to be owned or run by political parties. The 2018 ODIHR Election Observation Mission to Armenia was told by many interlocutors that many nationwide private outlets are strongly associated with political parties, including financially and ODIHR recommended measures to ensure full transparency of media ownership by requiring clear identification of the ultimate ownership.40 It is crucial that political parties do not use funds to wield disproportionate media influence and such ban of commercial media ownership is acceptable.
40 Republic of Armenia, Early Parliamentary Elections, 9 December 2018, OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report p. 14 and Recommendation 15; see also Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Doc. 14801, Observation of the early parliamentary elections in Armenia (9 December 2018), para 83.
