Observers speak positively about parliamentary elections in Armenia

The elections held in Armenia were in line with international standards; and minor violations that occurred during the voting had no effect on the outcomes, said the members of the observation mission of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly and the ICES.

According to preliminary data of the Central Election Commission (CEC), the ruling coalition, which includes the Republican Party, the "Prosperous Armenia" and the "Orinats Erkir" (Rule of Law), together won about 80 percent of parliamentary seats. The oppositional Armenian National Congress (ANC), the "Heritage" Party and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) "Dashnaktsutyun" will also have seats in the Parliament.

The observation mission of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, which consisted of about 170 observers, 22 of them – the long-term ones, – has found the parliamentary elections in Armenia as free, fair, open and competitive, said Vladimir Garkun, Head of the Mission of Observers, at a news conference on May 7.

"The May 6 parliamentary elections made an important step in strengthening the democracy and pluralism in Armenia. The election process was consistent with the Electoral Code; and they passed calmly," said Garkun.

The elections passed in Armenia without essential violations, Anna Churdova (Czech Republic), an observer from the International Expert Centre for Election Systems (ICES) told reporters on May 7.

However, she pointed to a number of organizational deficiencies in the work of election commissions.

"There were instances, when party confidants interfered in the electoral process. At many polling stations there were technical problems with stamps in citizens' passports, which disappeared after two hours instead of the claimed twelve. However, this situation was settled. The technical problems registered during the voting did not affect the election outcomes," said Ms Churdova.