YEREVAN.- The office of the EU delegation to Armenia presented the first joint project  launched by EU and the OSCE to support democratic general elections in Armenia in 2012 and 2013.

New head of EU delegation in Armenia Traian Hristea and acting head of OSCE office Carel Hofstra presented details of the project estimating at 1.7 million euro.

Head of EU Delegation recalled that the EU will finance the project, while OSCE will be responsible for its implementation.

Traian Hristea gave appraisal of the reforms of the Electoral Code carried out in Armenia last spring.

“Given the rich experience of the OSCE, I think the organization is the best partner for this program,” he said adding that another project is planned to ensure gender equality in pre-election period.

In his turn Carel Hofstra stressed that the program also provides for technical aid to election commissions.

It will improve technical and professional capacities of the Police to provide for accurate and accessible voter lists that are integrated with other relevant databases, technical capacities, knowledge and skills of police officers involved in organising rapid reaction to crime notifications, protecting public order and investigating pre-electoral violence.

Some funds will be allocated to raise public awareness of electoral rights and procedures among population, especially outside Yerevan.

Carel Hofstra said another important point is monitoring of the election process by the media, as the parties are not always unbiased.

“Our goal is to facilitate the process and follow it from the beginning to the end,” he added.

Summing up, the OSCE representative said that ODIHR group will visit Armenia in 10 days to conduct a preliminary monitoring.