EU welcomes progress made by Armenian authorities on holding presidential elections

EU welcomes the statement of preliminary findings and conclusions of the international observers on Armenia’s presidential elections.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and Štefan Füle, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, issued a statement on presidential elections in Armenia.

“We have taken note of the preliminary results of the presidential elections held in Armenia on

18 February, and welcome the statement of preliminary findings and conclusions of the

International Election Observation Mission on the conduct of elections.

We welcome further progress made by the Armenian authorities in their efforts to hold these presidential elections in line with international standards, notably through improved administration of the electoral process, ensuring possibilities for candidates to campaign freely and better quality of the voter lists.

At the same time, we expect a number of outstanding concerns to be followed up appropriately in the future, including reported instances of partiality by public servants, claims of misuse of administrative resources, unclear interpretation of campaign financing provisions and cases of pressure on voters. We also encourage the Armenian authorities to undertake an inclusive and transparent process of amendments to the election-related legislation, in line with the