YEREVAN, 21 February 2017 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today formally opened an election observation mission (EOM) for the 2 April parliamentary elections in Armenia. The mission’s deployment follows an official invitation from the Armenian authorities.

The mission is led by Ambassador Jan Petersen and consists of a core team of 14 experts based in Yerevan and 28 long-term observers to be deployed in teams of two across the country. In addition, ODIHR will request 250 short-term observers to monitor proceedings on election day.

The OSCE/ODIHR EOM will assess the elections for compliance with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation. Observers will closely monitor voter registration, candidate registration, campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant governmental bodies, election-related legislation and its implementation, the media environment and the resolution of election-related disputes. As part of the observation, the mission will also monitor the media coverage of the campaign.

In the course of its observation, the mission will meet with representatives of relevant authorities and of political parties, as well as with representatives of civil society, the media and the international community.

On election day, observers will monitor the opening of polling stations, voting, the counting of ballots and the tabulation of results. For election day, the mission will join efforts with delegations from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

A statement of preliminary findings and conclusions will be issued on the day after the election. A final report on the observation of the entire election process, including recommendations, will be published approximately two months after the completion of the election process.

For further information, please contact Elma Šehalić, Media Analyst with the election observation mission, at elma.sehalic@odihr.am.

or

Thomas Rymer, ODIHR Spokesperson, at + 48 609 522 266 or thomas.rymer@odihr.pl.