ICES observer mission for Armenian presidential polls formed

PanARMENIAN.Net - Maastricht hosted a working seminar on Jan 14, with the final composition of International expert Center for Electoral Systems (ICES) observer mission for Feb 18 presidential polls in Armenia formed, ICES official website reported.

Dr. Alexander Tsinker, ICES president, Knesset member of XV convocation, heads the mission. Funding of the mission is provided by the ICES Center as a part of its work on "Monitoring the process of democratization in the post-Soviet space."

On December 20, 2012, ICES officially requested the Central Elections Committee of Armenia (CEC) to register ICES Elections Observation Mission, comprised of 35 persons. The mission is comprised of independent experts, including attorneys and former diplomats, political scientists, media representatives and Members of European and national Parliaments, representing countries of the European Union, United States and Israel.

The approach to the Mission is two-fold: the first group of long-term observers will include 8 experts and will commence their work on February 1 of 2013. Finally, the group of short term elections observers to monitor the electoral process and the vote counting will arrive in the country on February 14, 2013. On the Election Day all experts will be disbursed to various cities in Armenia in order to have maximum coverage of the regional electoral precincts.

The ICES mission has given a generally positive review of the manner, in which the pre-election process has commenced and is being conducted.

• The legal foundations of the election process in the Republic of Armenia basically correspond to the international democratic regulations. The Electoral Code quite fully describes all the procedures of the election process. Strictly adhered to, the Electoral Code may ensure the transparency of the election process thus expressing the will of the country's citizens.

• The Mission appreciates the fact that the current Electoral Code has had no changes since its adoption in 2011, which gave all participants of the electoral process sufficient time to plan out their activities.

• The Central Election Commission of Armenia is conducting its work professionally and in accordance with all requirements, schedules and stages of the process as prescribed by the Electoral Code.

• The Mission urges all candidates and their staffs to carry out their pre-election activities with much responsibility, to facilitate in establishment of peaceful and pleasant electoral atmosphere and to refrain from making premature conclusions regarding the legitimacy and democracy of the elections.

• The Mission believes that even at the pre-election stage, all participants in the electoral process must declare their willingness to conduct honest and transparent campaign. They must also acknowledge the legitimacy of the electoral process and its results – whether or not they will meet their expectations. This is the essence of democracy.

• The Mission expresses their hope that the pre-election campaign period, the Elections Day itself and the process of vote counting and results tabulation will be carried out in Armenia in accordance with the Electoral legislation, without escalation of the current tensions, and that these Presidential Elections will meet the international standards.