European Parliament law makers in general are satisfied with the results of parliamentary elections in Armenia
ArmInfo. April 2 Parliamentary Elections in Armenia were conducted in constructive environment, which was promoted by new Electoral Code adoption and implementation of various tools of falsifications preventions. This was stated by
Heidi Hautala, Member of the European Parliament who led the EP's
delegation which was an integral part of the International Electoral
Observation Mission (IEOM), during the briefing moderated by Diogo
Pinto, Director of EuFoA, and attended by more than 30
representatives of the European Parliament, the European Commission,
diplomatic corps and international NGOs.
It was noted that the elections were preceded by an extremely
constructive and inclusive process, which led to a new, consensual
Electoral Code, and reminded that the EU contributed financially to
the success of the elections, namely through the introduction of
Voter Authentication Devices (VADs) and web cameras, which helped
identifying voters and preventing multiple voting, impersonation and
fraud, significantly increasing the overall transparency. Ms Hautala
added that despite the fact that the elections were well administered
and fundamental freedoms were generally respected, observers were
confronted with credible information about vote-buying and pressure
on civil servants and employees of private companies, exerted by
various candidates from different parties.
It was mentioned also that these elections confirmed that Armenia is
on the right track to consolidate itself as a strong democracy, where
both the government and the opposition are able to learn from
mistakes and integrate criticism. In this context, the EU should
continue to encourage reforms and support Armenia's sovereignty and
independence, namely through assistance promoting the independence of
the judiciary, transparency of the political process and good
governance, but also training for journalists and continued
empowerment of civil society. The event was attended by european law
makers and diplomats