Tuesday, 18 May 2021
Arsen Torosyan: “The Government will make every effort to hold free, transparent and fair elections”
The Government hosted a meeting with the UN Office in Armenia and representatives of Armenia-accredited foreign diplomatic missions to discuss the preparations for the upcoming early parliamentary elections scheduled for June 20, 2021.
According to Arsen Torosyan, Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, all available resources will have to be used to hold the elections to the highest possible standards, in order to ensure democracy, transparency and credibility. Arsen Torosyan assured that together with the Central Electoral Commission, the Government will make every effort to hold free, transparent, fair elections and to continuously improve the electoral process. “I am confident that with joint efforts we will be able to achieve this,” he said.
Arsen Torosyan stressed the importance of international observer missions’ involvement throughout the electoral process. He referred to the need for proper organization of the elections amid the still raging global pandemic. “Time is a potential challenge to snap elections and we cannot ignore it. We must use all the tools at our disposal if we are to hold high-standard, transparent, free and fair elections within short deadlines,” Arsen Torosyan said.
Central Electoral Commission Chairman Tigran Mukuchyan gave details on the ongoing preparations for the snap elections. In terms of proper organization of the electoral process, the CEC Chairman highlighted the factor of appropriate technical equipment available in the polling stations, as well as the need for staff trainings.
Tigran Mukuchyan next referred to the need for notifying the voters of the amendments to the Electoral Code. Relevant guidelines and video materials will be published to this end. “We plan to have separate ballots concerning the voting procedure, so that the voters might be aware of the peculiarities of the new voting procedure. As you may know, the amendments have been adopted recently in a bid to make the electoral process easier, but it is crucial to inform the voters about it within a short period of time,” the CEC chairman concluded.
Tigran Mukuchyan noted that the whole toolkit applied in the preceding elections will be used during the upcoming election; comprehensive voters lists will be published, cameras will be installed in the polling stations to ensure the live broadcast of the process.
The representatives of Armenia-accredited foreign diplomatic missions and international organizations expressed readiness to assist the Government with a view to holding free, fair, transparent elections.
