The peaceful so-called “velvet revolution”, in conjunction with the political will of the current authorities, enabled the holding of democratic election, rapporteur Aleksander Pociej said during the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Pociej presented the report on observation of the early parliamentary elections in Armenia.

The rapporteur congratulated Armenia on the elections, but said that is not enough to organize one democratic elections, and  it is up to Armenia’s elected representatives to launch legal reforms to consolidate the democratic process in the country.

Pociej  said the Assembly has observed every election in Armenia since 1995 and stressed, despite the complex electoral system and reported instances of intimidation via social media, the electoral irregularities which tainted many elections in the past were absent.

However, he pointed to some cases of intimidation on social networks.

“70 percent of votes for one party is big trust, and responsibility,” the rapporteur emphasized when speaking about the victory of “My Step” alliance.

When presenting the conclusions of the PACE observers, he said that early parliamentary elections in Armenia were held with due regard for fundamental freedoms and enjoyed broad public trust that needs to be preserved through further electoral reforms.  Pociej emphasized that the election campaign culminated in televised live debates and in general was characterized by a balanced coverage on public TV.