THE OSCE/ODIHR ASSESSMENT
Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 31, 2008
Armenia
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights has
published its final report on the Presidential elections in Armenia.
According to the report, the pre-election stage and the voting were
mostly in line with the commitments to the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe; however, there emerged certain problems,
especially after the voting. `Although the 2008 presidential elections
were mostly in line with the OSCE commitments and the international
standards in the pre-election period and during the voting, there did
emerge serious challenges in relation to certain commitments,
especially after the voting day.’
It is particularly mentioned that the tabulation of the votes was not
sufficiently transparent, and the process of appealing against the
results was not fully effective.
The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights conducted the
monitoring of the February elections with the participation of 44
long-term and 250 short-term observers from the OSCE Member States. The
report evaluates the electoral processes from the angle of compliance
with the OSCE commitments, the international standards and the national
legislation.
`There are substantial legal basis for holding democratic elections in
Armenia. The flaws specified in our report result from the lack of
determination of applying the laws in an effective and impartial
manner,’ ODIHR Director Christian Shtrohal mentioned.
The report contains concrete proposals aimed at reforming the electoral
system in Armenia.