PACE DELEGATION HEARTENED BY THE "CLEARLY EXPRESSED POLITICAL WILL" OF THE ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES, BUT IS CONCERNED WITH "THE APPARENT LACK OF TRUST IN THE ELECTORAL PROCESS"
Mediamax
January 31, 2008
Yerevan /Mediamax/. The Observation Mission of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) stated in Yerevan today
that "till now, the election campaign has taken place in an open and
unimpeded climate". At the same time, the Mission took into account
the statements of a number of candidates on the difficulties with
the rent of offices in a number of regions.
Mediamax reports that the PACE Observation Mission made a statement
today following the results of their visit to Armenia. The document
noted that the members of the Mission heard several complaints that
the candidates are in unequal conditions because of the decision
of the current Prime Minister to maintain his position during the
campaign period.
"While recognizing the legality of the current Prime Minister to
continue his function despite being a candidate, we add to the
responsibility of the government to avoid any perception that
administrative resources are abused in favor of, or against, any
particular candidate", the statement reads.
The PACE Mission expressed regret in connection with the "clearly
imbalanced media coverage on the most broadcast media, including public
television, before the official campaign period, as was reported
by several monitoring organizations, including by the Election
Observation Mission of the OSCE/ODIHR whose findings published in
its first interim report the delegation fully supports".
The PACE Delegation expressed its hope that the progress, shown over
the parliamentary elections in Armenia last year, will be continued
during the upcoming Presidential elections in 2008.
"We are heartened by the clearly expressed political will of the
authorities to address previous shortcomings and to hold fully
democratic elections in the line with Armenia’s commitments to the
Council of Europe", the statement reads.
At the same time, the PACE Delegation is concerned with "the apparent
lack of trust in the electoral process, including in the impartiality
of the legal complaints and appeals process, expressed by a number of
interlocutors". "Therefore, we strongly recommend that the authorities
take all necessary measures to ensure the public confidence in the
electoral process, especially with regard to the secrecy of the
vote and the transparency of the counting and tabulation processes",
the statement reads.