Some 40 members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly from 19 countries are arriving this week in Yerevan to observe the 9 December Armenian parliamentary elections. Led by Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE short-term observer mission Peter Osusky (MP, Slovak Republic) and Head of the OSCE PA delegation Nahima Lanjri (MP, Belgium), the observers will participate in several days of meetings and briefings in Yerevan before deploying around the country for election day observation.
Osusky, who serves as the Head of the Delegation of the Slovak Republic to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, has observed numerous elections, including as Head of the OSCE PA observer delegation to the early presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey, in June 2018.
“I cannot overstate the importance for the country of holding democratic elections that enjoy the trust of the Armenian people,” said Osusky. “As international observers we aim to contribute through a thorough assessment as to whether the elections are held in accordance with Armenia’s democratic commitments.”
Lanjri is Head of the Delegation of Belgium to the OSCE PA and serves as Chair of the OSCE PA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Migration.
“The dramatic events and change of power earlier this year set an important backdrop to these elections, and I’m pleased that the political arena will now move from the street to the ballot box,” said Lanjri.
OSCE PA observers will be deploying throughout Armenia, along with OSCE/ODIHR observers, observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the European Parliament (EP). ODIHR has requested 250 short-term observers for the election.
It is the 11th time the OSCE PA has deployed an election observation mission to Armenia since 1995. The elections will be assessed for their adherence to democratic commitments laid out in the OSCE’s Copenhagen Document of 1990.
Preliminary findings and conclusions of the election observation mission will be presented at a press conference in Yerevan on 10 December.