Observers are not the police
"There will be 250 short-term observers from the OSCE-member countries following the elections for the National Assembly in Armenia," said Head of the OSCE/ODIHR observatory mission group Radmila Shekerinska during a press conference today. According to the head of the group, the observers will arrive in Armenia in the week ahead of the elections.
Journalists told Shekerinska that the Armenian National Congress (HAK) had asked the OSCE and the PACE to provide 2,000 observers since "250 observers were evidently not enough to hold objective monitoring of the elections".
"The OSCE/ODIHR is neither the police of the elections nor a replacement for the police," said Shekerinska.
Shekerinska says experience has shown that 250 observers are enough for objective observations. Nevertheless, the head of the group informed that the PACE would also be sending observers "so that the number of observers is higher on the day of the vote".
To observe by the authorities' order
"We are here at the invitation of the Armenian authorities," says the head of the OSCE/ODIHR observatory group. Shekerinska informed that the observers were here for a short-term observation of the upcoming NA elections. According to her, long-term observers will stay in Armenia after the elections "to observe post-electoral processes". Radmila Shekerinska also informed that the OSCE/ODIHR experts would assess the compatibility of the Armenian parliamentary elections with European standards, Armenia's obligations in front of Europe, as well as the country's legislation. "We are observing the process of elections, not the results," said Shekerinska. She also recalled that this OSCE/ODIHR observatory mission was participating in the monitoring of elections in Armenia for the eighth time already.
