OBSERVERS DO NOT COMMENT ON OUTCOMES BUT WATCH THE PROCESS

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.02.2008 18:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Observers do not comment outcomes, they just watch
the process, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice President and Special
Coordinator of the OSCE short-term observers, Ms. Anne-Marie Lizin
told a news conference today.

"The mission is not entitled to give advice or insist on re-count of
votes. This is the responsibility of the Armenian authorities. We can
provide recommendations. Our mission has fixed violations but they
found no ground," she said adding that the media’s attention to Serzh
Sargsyan’s candidacy was conditioned by his being the Prime Minister.

"While we noted improvements in the framework for these elections,
problems with its implementation, especially during the vote count,
in some cases undermined the trust of the people. In the end, the
final choice lies in the hands of the Armenian people.

Therefore, its trust in the electoral process is crucial to genuine
democracy," said John Prescott, the Head of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly delegation.