Parliamentary Elections, 25 May 2003

ODIHR has deployed an election observation mission to monitor the parliamentary elections in Armenia on 25 May 2003. This follows observation by ODIHR of the presidential election in February and March.

The mission will maintain a reduced presence to cover the repeat elections in three districts scheduled for 14-15 June.

Long-term observation

The mission, headed by Ambassador Robert Barry (United States), includes 12 international staff based at the Yerevan head office and 16 long-term observers deployed in the regions. Two of these were recruited through a voluntary fund established to diversify the national composition of election observation missions.

The mission will assess the election process in terms of its compliance with international standards for democratic elections and national legislation. It will focus on the election campaign, the legislative framework and its implementation, the media situation, the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies and the complaints and appeals process.

Election day

ODIHR plans to deploy some 250 short-term observers shortly before election day. The short-term observers will be deployed in teams of two across Armenia to monitor the opening of polling stations, the voting, the counting of ballots and the tabulation of results at all levels.

A number of parliamentarians from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will take part in the mission as short-term observers.

The day after the election, the mission will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions. A comprehensive final report will be released about a month after the completion of the election process.

Previous elections

ODIHR has observed all elections in Armenia since 1996. ODIHR's final report on the 1999 parliamentary elections concluded that they represented a step towards compliance with OSCE commitments, although a number of concerns and shortcomings were noted.

However, the presidential election held in February and March 2003, according to the ODIHR's assessment, fell short of international standards for democratic elections.