Tweet
OSCE/ODIHR ISSUES FIRST INTERIM REPORT ON ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2013/01/24/osce-elections/
16:38 24/01/2013
The Election Observation Mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has issued its first interim
report on the February 18 presidential election in Armenia, posted
on the OSCE official website.
"In line with constitutional provisions, on 8 December 2012 the
Central Election Commission (CEC) announced that scheduled presidential
election will be held on 18 February 2013. Following aninvitation from
the Prime Minister, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) established an Election Observation Mission
(EOM) on 10 January. The EOM, led by Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini,
consists of a 13-member core team based in Yerevan and 24 longterm
observers who were deployed on 16 January to ten locations across
the country. The EOM members are drawn from 21 OSCE participating
States. OSCE/ODIHR will request participating States to second 250
short-term observers to observe voting, counting, and tabulation of
results on election day," the report said.
"The most recent parliamentary elections were held in May 2012,"
the report said.
"The OSCE/ODIHR EOM observed the 2012 parliamentary elections and
concluded in its final report that the elections "were characterized
by a competitive, vibrant and largely peaceful campaign, which was,
however, marked by a low level of confidence in the integrity of
the process.
Following the parliamentary elections, a working group composed
of government and other state representatives was established
by presidential decree.2 The group was tasked to explore the
recommendations offered in the OSCE/ODIHR EOM Final Report and by
other observer organizations, and to put forward an action plan for
their implementation. The results of the group's work were presented
to the OSCE/ODIHR in October 2012, which recommended that fundamental
aspects of the legal framework should not be amended so close to the
upcoming election," the report said.
"The electoral legal framework underwent significant reform in May
2011, when a new Electoral Code was adopted. The upcoming election
is the first presidential election that will be held under this
Code. The OSCE/ODIHR and the Council of Europe's European Commission
for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) have assessed the
Code as comprehensive and providing a sound basis for the conduct of
democratic elections.
At the same time, while the new Code addresses a number of previous
recommendations offered by the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission,
there are still areas where it could benefit from improvement,"
the report said.
"There are 96 television channels, including 6 with nationwide
coverage, 20 radio companies, some 90 print publications and numerous
online media. Television is the most important source of information,
especially outside of Yerevan. Public television, H1, has nationwide
reach and is considered one of the most influential media outlets,"
the report said.
http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2013/01/24/osce-elections/
16:38 24/01/2013
The Election Observation Mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has issued its first interim
report on the February 18 presidential election in Armenia, posted
on the OSCE official website.
"In line with constitutional provisions, on 8 December 2012 the
Central Election Commission (CEC) announced that scheduled presidential
election will be held on 18 February 2013. Following aninvitation from
the Prime Minister, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) established an Election Observation Mission
(EOM) on 10 January. The EOM, led by Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini,
consists of a 13-member core team based in Yerevan and 24 longterm
observers who were deployed on 16 January to ten locations across
the country. The EOM members are drawn from 21 OSCE participating
States. OSCE/ODIHR will request participating States to second 250
short-term observers to observe voting, counting, and tabulation of
results on election day," the report said.
"The most recent parliamentary elections were held in May 2012,"
the report said.
"The OSCE/ODIHR EOM observed the 2012 parliamentary elections and
concluded in its final report that the elections "were characterized
by a competitive, vibrant and largely peaceful campaign, which was,
however, marked by a low level of confidence in the integrity of
the process.
Following the parliamentary elections, a working group composed
of government and other state representatives was established
by presidential decree.2 The group was tasked to explore the
recommendations offered in the OSCE/ODIHR EOM Final Report and by
other observer organizations, and to put forward an action plan for
their implementation. The results of the group's work were presented
to the OSCE/ODIHR in October 2012, which recommended that fundamental
aspects of the legal framework should not be amended so close to the
upcoming election," the report said.
"The electoral legal framework underwent significant reform in May
2011, when a new Electoral Code was adopted. The upcoming election
is the first presidential election that will be held under this
Code. The OSCE/ODIHR and the Council of Europe's European Commission
for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) have assessed the
Code as comprehensive and providing a sound basis for the conduct of
democratic elections.
At the same time, while the new Code addresses a number of previous
recommendations offered by the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission,
there are still areas where it could benefit from improvement,"
the report said.
"There are 96 television channels, including 6 with nationwide
coverage, 20 radio companies, some 90 print publications and numerous
online media. Television is the most important source of information,
especially outside of Yerevan. Public television, H1, has nationwide
reach and is considered one of the most influential media outlets,"
the report said.