During the congress of the European People’s Party recently, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, referring to the conclusion of the OSCE/ODIHR monitoring mission, promised that the 2013 presidential election would also be held based on the principle of free and fair competition. www.aravot.am inquired of Dafina Gercheva, the UN Resident Coordinator, whose mission was coming to an end whether the President’s promises to hold a free and fair election were trustworthy for her, if we took into account the political arrests that had followed the 2008 presidential election and the resolutions of a set of European organizations that had not been implemented. “Yes, they are,” Ms. Gercheva said, adding, “I think those promises will be kept. The undertaken obligation to hold a free and fair election will be met. It is very important not only for the country’s stability, but also for closer cooperation with the European Union, gaining the most benefit for the country from the cooperation with the EU.”
