The impact of the recommendations of International Election Observation Missions (IEOM) on the new electoral code in Armenia is notable and considered a step forward, but important recommendations concerning the restriction of observers and the exclusion of organisational costs from campaign financing have not been taken into account in the new electoral code and a lot still remains to be done.

From 250 recommendations that were made between 2013 and 2016 by International Observer Missions only 30% were implemented. This was one of the conclusions of the conference “Follow-up to the Recommendations of International Election Observation Missions in Armenia” which was organised by the Council of Europe in the framework of the Project “Long-term electoral assistance to the election related stakeholders of Armenia” on 14 February 2017. The aim of the Conference was to take stock of the situation with regard to the implementation of the recommendations of International Election Observation Missions in Armenia and to discuss strategies for an improved follow-up.

Domestic observer organisations also criticised a certain ambiguity in IOEM reports, the lack of impartiality in some cases and the lack of long-term cooperation with domestic observer organisations. The importance of the observation of the whole electoral process, for national as well as international observers, was stressed and that more pressure needs to be applied to political parties to effectively follow-up the recommendations. According Mr Tevan Poghosyan, Member of Armenian Parliament, civil society organisations should not only address the government for the implementation of the recommendations, but should also ask political parties to include the recommendations in their agenda. Also, civil society organisations were advised to not wait until government or political parties get active, but formulate proactive amendments and legislative initiatives themselves.  

Key speakers of the conference included Ambassador Piotr Antoni Świtalski, Head of Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Armenia, who welcomed the clear will of the electoral stake holders in Armenia to improve the electoral process and the dialog between state institution and civil society in the last month, Mr Arthur Hovhannisyan, First Deputy Minister of Justice and Mr Tigran Mukuchyan, Chair of Central Electoral Commission.

The Conference brought together more than 65 representatives of governmental institutions, electoral administration, media, international organisations and civil society organisations functioning in Armenia. The event was broadly covered by media, amongst them the 2 main TV stations of Armenia.

• Public TV (1 TV)
• “Armenia” TV
• "A1+" TV (online)
• Panorama.am
• Mamul.am
• Yerevan.Today
• Hayastan24.com