OSCE/ODIHR third interim report reaffirms assessment of Armenian presidential election

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed that OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission has released its third interim report on Armenia's presidential elections. The report reaffirms the ODIHR Election Observation Mission's assessment that the February 19 Presidential election "was administered mostly in line with OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards."



The government of Armenia notes that some of the problems cited in this post-election interim report have already been at the center of attention by certain law enforcement bodies, and that appropriate steps are taken to respond, including to criminally charge some of those responsible for certain electoral irregularities.



At the same time, Armenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that in spite of the government's repeated inquiries, the government has not been provided with the identifying numbers of 13 of the 17 precincts where, according to the report, the counting process was "bad" or "very bad", and therefore, without such information, the government is unable to conduct the appropriate investigation.



The interim report also includes interpretative statements based on unverified data. Thus, the report expresses doubt about the high turnout in precincts 37/18, 37/29, 37/38 and 37/39. Prior to the issuance of the report, the authorities had explained that there are military posts in those precincts which naturally raises the numbers of those voting, and thus the percentage of voter turnout in those precincts can be not just near 100, but also in excess of 100 percent.



The Armenian government will closely examine each problem, as well as inconsistency and error cited in the report, and will provide comprehensive information about each both to the Armenian public and to OSCE/ODIHR in order to assure that the final report is even more objective and complete, the RA MFA press office reported.