EU CALLS ON ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES TO AMEND ELECTION-RELATED LEGISLATION IN LINE WITH OSCE/ODIHR'S RECOMMENDATIONS
YEREVAN, February 20. / ARKA /. In a joint statement Catherine Ashton,
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy and Stefan Fule, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and
European Neighborhood Policy, encouraged today the Armenian
authorities to undertake an inclusive and transparent process of
amendments to the election-related legislation, in line with the
OSCE/ODIHR's recommendations following the parliamentary elections of
May 2012."
"We have taken note of the preliminary results of the presidential
elections held in Armenia on 18 February, and welcome the statement of
preliminary findings and conclusions of the
International Election Observation Mission on the conduct of
elections. We welcome further progress made by the Armenian
authorities in their efforts to hold these presidential elections in
line with international standards, notably through improved
administration of the electoral process, ensuring possibilities for
candidates to campaign freely and better quality of the voter lists,'
they said, adding also that at the same time, they expect a number of
outstanding concerns to be followed up appropriately in the future,
including reported instances of partiality by public servants, claims
of misuse of administrative resources, unclear interpretation of
campaign financing provisions and cases of pressure on voters.
According to the preliminary results of the February 18 polls,
Armenia's incumbent president Sezrh Sargsyan won re-election with
861,378 votes or 58.64% of the vote. Raffi Hovannisian polled 539,674
votes or 36.74%, Hrant Bagratyan - 31,643 votes or 2.15%, Paruyr
Hayrikyan - 18,093 votes or 1.23%, Andrias Ghukasyan - 8,328 votes or
0.57%, Arman Melikyan - 3,520 votes or 0.24% and Vardan Sedrakyan -
6,203 votes or 0.42%. -0-
YEREVAN, February 20. / ARKA /. In a joint statement Catherine Ashton,
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy and Stefan Fule, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and
European Neighborhood Policy, encouraged today the Armenian
authorities to undertake an inclusive and transparent process of
amendments to the election-related legislation, in line with the
OSCE/ODIHR's recommendations following the parliamentary elections of
May 2012."
"We have taken note of the preliminary results of the presidential
elections held in Armenia on 18 February, and welcome the statement of
preliminary findings and conclusions of the
International Election Observation Mission on the conduct of
elections. We welcome further progress made by the Armenian
authorities in their efforts to hold these presidential elections in
line with international standards, notably through improved
administration of the electoral process, ensuring possibilities for
candidates to campaign freely and better quality of the voter lists,'
they said, adding also that at the same time, they expect a number of
outstanding concerns to be followed up appropriately in the future,
including reported instances of partiality by public servants, claims
of misuse of administrative resources, unclear interpretation of
campaign financing provisions and cases of pressure on voters.
According to the preliminary results of the February 18 polls,
Armenia's incumbent president Sezrh Sargsyan won re-election with
861,378 votes or 58.64% of the vote. Raffi Hovannisian polled 539,674
votes or 36.74%, Hrant Bagratyan - 31,643 votes or 2.15%, Paruyr
Hayrikyan - 18,093 votes or 1.23%, Andrias Ghukasyan - 8,328 votes or
0.57%, Arman Melikyan - 3,520 votes or 0.24% and Vardan Sedrakyan -
6,203 votes or 0.42%. -0-