IPA CIS International Observers Monitored Parliamentary Elections in Armenia

The regular parliamentary elections to the National Assembly were held in the Republic of Armenia on 7 June. An international observer group from the IPA CIS monitored the elections at the invitation of President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Alen Simonyan.

The IPA CIS observer group was coordinated by Deputy Chair of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zhakip Asanov.

The monitoring group, comprising MPs from six countries – Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – as well as officials of the Assembly and experts from the International Institute for Monitoring the Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD), conducted observation in Yerevan and other regions of the country.

Particular note should be made of the meeting held on 5 June between the IPA CIS international observers and President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Alen Simonyan. He thanked the observers for their participation in monitoring the electoral campaign and emphasized the importance of the CIS observation format for Armenia.

The President stressed the particular importance of ensuring the transparency and legitimacy of the electoral process, strengthening public confidence and promoting international cooperation. Alen Simonyan expressed confidence that the observers would carry out their work independently and impartially.

Zhakip Asanov thanked the President for the invitation. He noted that the IPA CIS observers’ fundamental principles are non-interference in the internal affairs of the state, impartiality and the avoidance of political assessments.

A meeting between the IPA CIS international observers and Chair of the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Hovakimyan also took place on 5 June.

Zhakip Asanov noted that 34 of the 42 accredited observers were participating in short-term election monitoring in Armenia as part of the group. He also reported that experts from the IPA CIS IIMDD had conducted an analysis of Armenia’s electoral legislation and carried out long-term monitoring of the preparations for the elections.

The Coordinator handed over to the leadership of the Central Electoral Commission documents containing the observers’ findings and assessments.

On 8 June, at the Mission’s final press conference in Yerevan, the findings of the observation were presented by Head of the CIS Observer Mission, Deputy Secretary General of the CIS Nurlan Seitimov. He stated that, in the Mission’s assessment, the elections were conducted in accordance with the Constitution and the Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia. The elections were held on a multiparty basis and were open and competitive. The election campaign was active and characterized by intense political competition. The shortcomings identified were of a technical nature.