US Fed News
February 22, 2008 Friday 7:02 AM EST

DECLARATION BY PRESIDENCY ON BEHALF OF EUROPEAN UNION ON PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION IN ARMENIA, FEB. 19

BRUSSELS, Belgium

The European Union issued the following common foreign and security
policy statement:

The European Union congratulates the Armenian people for the conduct
of a competitive presidential election in Armenia.

The European Union notes the statement of preliminary findings and
conclusions of the International Election Observation Mission which
concluded that the presidential election in Armenia, an important
test for democracy in this country, was conducted mostly in line with
OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards. The European
Union welcomes the genuine efforts that were made to address the
shortcomings noted in previous elections.

However, the EU also notes that the report raised concerns about the
electoral process and that further improvements are necessary to
address the remaining challenges. It notes in particular that,
according to ODIHR, improvements and additional political will are
necessary to tackle concerns such as the lack of public confidence in
the electoral process, the absence of clear separation between state
and party functions, and ensuring equal treatment of candidates.

The European Union looks forward to the final results of the
presidential election and calls on the competent authorities to
ensure that complaints are adequately investigated and shortcomings
addressed.