EU, Germany, UK and Sweden to provide support for Armenia’s early parliamentary elections

15:16,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The European Union, the German, UK and Swedish governments will provide support to Armenia for holding the upcoming early parliamentary elections, reports Armenpress.

A joint document between these structures was signed in Yerevan on November 14.

“Armenia has officially applied to several international partners, and some of them agreed to provide support for holding the December 9 early parliamentary elections. This document officially signals the launch of a program for support of electoral processes in Armenia which aims at having transparent, reliable, free and fair elections on December 9. I am confident that all these efforts are not only just technical, working commitments, but a sincere dedication to support democratic elections in Armenia. We have quite long-term plans to develop the electoral processes in Armenia. If we have a majority in the Parliament by the upcoming election results, next elections in Armenia will be held by a new Electoral Code”, acting first deputy prime minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan said.

Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Świtalski said the EU has also taken part in the previous elections in Armenia, and this participation will continue. “The efforts initiated by the government and the UNDP aim at making you be confident that your votes will fairly reach their place. Don’t sell your votes, don’t take bribes and every time you receive such an offer, please inform. Let these elections be the best not only in Armenia’s, but also other nations’ history”, the EU Ambassador said.

German Ambassador to Armenia Matthias Kiesler noted that this is going to be a very important day for Armenia. “We managed to implement this program within a record time. Germany has provided 700.000 Euros for the installation of identification devices and cameras”, he noted.

UK Ambassador to Armenia Judith Farnworth stated that these elections will signal the beginning of a new development stage for Armenia. “I think the speed we, the donors, have put speaks about the fact how we highlight this program. All these aim at making the voter be confident that their votes will be taken into account that day. The elections signal the beginning, rather than the end of the new development stage of Armenia. The UK supports the Armenian government. We see a stable and democratic partner in the person of Armenia”, she said.

Chargé d'affaires of the Swedish Embassy in Armenia Martin Fredriksson expressed hope that the elections will raise the level of public trust. “During the previous elections the final result of the international donors showed that there was a lack of public trust. I hope this year after the elections we will be able to confirm that the public trust level was higher”, Fredriksson said.

UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Armenia Shombi Sharp said they attach great importance to the strengthening of democratic structures in Armenia.

“We want to be confident that we will achieve our goals and we see this desire among everyone. This is not the first time that assistance is provided by our donors for holding elections. We are trying to move forward step by step and further improve the previous positive practice. We want to raise the awareness level of voters about the participation in elections. The outcome of these elections is in the hands of the people”, Shombi Sharp said.

The program is funded by the Armenian government (0.7 million USD), the European Union (1.5 million Euros), Germany (0.7 million Euros), UK (0.5 million pounds) and Sweden (1.5 million Swedish kronas).

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan