YEREVAN.- The 18 February presidential election was generally well-administered and was characterized by a respect for fundamental freedoms, says the statement on preliminary findings and conclusions issued by international election observation mission.

“The campaign of the incumbent President was most active and visible. Misuse of administrative resources, including cases of pressure on voters, lack of impartiality on the part of the public administration, participation of public and civil servants in the campaign of the incumbent as well as several instances of campaign offices located in buildings occupied by state or local government bodies blurred the distinction between the state and the ruling party which is at odds with paragraphs 5.4 and 7.7 of the 1990 OSCE Copenhagen Document,” the statement says.

“The media gave wide attention to political and election-related information, and media monitored by the OSCE/ODIHR EOM regularly covered all candidates. They gave more coverage to Serzh Sargsyan and Raffi Hovannisyan reflecting the greater extent of their campaign activities. Public television and radio complied with their legal obligation to provide free airtime and balanced coverage of the contestants and all candidates utilized their free airtime. However, the coverage of the campaign was mostly formal and did not provide analytical comment, and no debates were organized between candidates.

Election commissions and courts received a limited number of complaints. The Electoral Code limits the right to file complaints to those whose personal electoral rights are at stake, essentially restricting the right of voters and observers to seek judicial remedy for breach of electoral rights. Court decisions on electoral rights may not be appealed, which limits effective legal redress.

The voting process was orderly, calm and well organized in the majority of polling stations visited. Undue interference in the process, mainly by proxies representing the incumbent, and some cases of serious violations, including intimidation of voters, were observed in a number of polling stations. The ink for stamping voters’ passports was deficient, as it proved to be easily removable from voters’ passports. The majority of vote counts observed was assessed positively, although irregularities and procedural violations were at times noted. Tabulation was assessed positively in all but one of the 41 Territorial Election Commissions, however observers were prevented from adequately observing entry of results into the computer system in 12 cases. The CEC announced a preliminary voter turnout of 61.2 per cent.”

The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission opened in Yerevan on 10 January, with 16 experts in the capital, and 24 long-term observers deployed throughout Armenia.

On election day, some 283 short-term observers were deployed, including a 24-member delegation from the PACE, and a 9-member delegation from the EP. In total, there were observers from 36 OSCE participating States and one partner for co-operation. Voting was observed in 853 polling stations out of a total of 1,988. Counting was observed in 106 polling stations across all constituencies. The tabulation process was observed in all 41 TECs.