In Nations in Transit 2004 report on electoral process and independent media made public by the Freedom House yesterday, Armenia's rating appeared to be worsened as compared with the one previous year. "International observers noted serious irregularities in presidential and parliamentary elections in 2003. The authorities also failed to ensure that the country's leading independent media organizations were able to resume broadcasting before the elections," the report says. "Media freedom was further threatened by the inclusion of strict libel laws within Armenia's new criminal code. International organizations continued to highlight human rights abuses, but welcomed the abolition of the death penalty," the Freedom House points out. It should be noted that country ratings and scores are based on a 1 to 7 scale, with 1 representing the highest level of democratic development and 7 the lowest. Before 2003 Armenia was among "Transitional Government or Hybrid Regime" countries. In this year's report Armenia scored 5.0 for the first time and is ranked among "Semi-Consolidated Authoritarian
Regimes." It should be noted that Azerbaijan is in the same category with 5.6 points.