ENEMO slams Armenia's decision to reject invite for election observationMarch 29, 2017 - 13:07 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO) in a statement condemned the decision of Armenia's Central Electoral Commission (CEC) to deny ENEMO an official invitation to observe the upcoming parliamentary elections. ENEMO says it received a letter from the CEC in response to a request of invitation to conduct an international election observation mission for the April 2 elections. "The letter states a possible 'congestion' at the polling stations due to high interest from various organizations to deploy observers during the elections. The CEC also explains that the international organizations such as OSCE/ODIHR, OSCE PA, PACE, European Parliament and CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly are invited to observe and alleges that “there is no need to invite an additional observation missions (sic),” ENEMO said. "ENEMO believes that restricting international observation does not serve to enhance public confidence in the electoral process in Armenia and undermines transparency of the upcoming elections." Also, the organization called on the Armenian authorities to ensure that the interest from domestic and international observer organizations to deploy election observation missions are welcome in future. Top stories From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has visited the southern Armenian province of Syunik, the Defense Ministry reported on March 18. Armenia has registered Covid-19-related deaths in 23 vaccinated individuals so far, according to Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan. Partner news | Kazakh Foreign Minister arrives in Armenia Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu on Monday, March 18 arrived in Armenia for a two-day trip. Aliyev touts “good chances” for normalizing ties with Armenia Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has declared that there are “good chances” for normalizing relations with Armenia. Putin secures fifth term as Russian president Russian President Vladimir Putin has secured a fifth term in office through a dubious national plebiscite. Top Armenian, Indian defense officials discuss cooperation The discussions primarily focused on enhancing cooperation in the defence sector between Armenia and India. |