Saturday, 23 February 2008
The Presidency on behalf of the European Union has issued a declaration on the Presidential election in Armenia on 19 February 2008, which reads as follows in particular:
"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 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."
