EU PRAISES ARMENIAN ELECTIONS
AFP
Radio Liberty, Czech rep.
May 14 2007
The German presidency of the European Union said on Sunday that weekend
elections in Armenia were "on the whole" conducted fairly and freely.
"The Presidency welcomes the fact that, compared to previous elections,
significant progress has been made," a statement said.
It called on Armenia ahead of presidential elections in 2008 "to
investigate and resolve the procedural problems which still exist,
particularly those concerning vote-counting but also the isolated
cases of irregularities which were observed."
No Armenian election has been judged free and fair since the country
became independent with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),
which sent 300 observers, said earlier on Sunday that the vote was
a clear improvement over previous polls.