The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights will send a team of experts, 24 long-term observers and 250 short-term observers for Armenia’s parliamentary elections scheduled for May.

“The primary law governing the upcoming elections is the recently amended Electoral Code. A recent joint opinion by the OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission noted that it includes a number of positive amendments, addressing previous recommendations. At the same time, it would benefit from further improvement in order to ensure full compliance with OSCE commitments,” reads the report issued by OSCE/ODIHR.

It mentions that although the new code has the potential to allow the conduct of democratic elections, legislation alone cannot ensure this. It is its proper and equally applied implementation by all stakeholders that remains the key challenge.

The OSCE/ODIHR experts also said that the political climate is characterized by a strong distrust between government and opposition.

“In light of the above, the OSCE/ODIHR NAM recommends the deployment of a core team of experts together with 24 long-term observers to be seconded by participating States, who will be deployed throughout Armenia. The NAM also recommends that 250 short-term observers be requested from participating States to ensure a wide and geographically balanced coverage of the country for the observation of voting, counting and tabulation of results,” the report concludes.