ICES mission to observe presidential elections in Armenia
Independent experts of the International expert Center for Electoral Systems (ICES) will observe the presidential elections in Armenia scheduled for February 18.
"When all presidential nominees are already known, the team of ICES experts will arrive in Armenia. Thirty-five ICES representatives will be working in Armenian on the election day. The mission includes members of the European Parliament and national parliaments of European countries, political scientists and journalists," Alexander Tsinker, President of ICES, director of East European States & CIS Institute, said in Yerevan on December 21.
While presenting the results of their studies and evaluations concerning Armenia's Electoral Code, Lidia Lawson, President of Independent American Center of Political Monitoring, said that the Electoral Code adopted in 2011 contains all standards for conducting democratic elections in Armenia.
Among the shortcomings of the Electoral Code, she pointed out the provision which bans prisoners from participating in elections. "This is a negative fact and is against human rights," said the expert.
Another drawback is that the Electoral Code does not define the order of transferring election results to the Central Election Commission.
