On April 3, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received the heads of a number of missions that observed the parliamentary elections in Armenia - Ignacio Sánchez Amor, Special Co-ordinator and the leader of the short-term OSCE observation mission, Geir Jorgen Bekkevold, Head of the delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Ambassador Jan Petersen, Head of the election observation mission from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Liliane Maury Pasquier, Head of the delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Heidi Hautala, Head of the delegation from the European Parliament, and Michael Link, the Director of the OSCE ODIHR.

The guests briefed the Minister on their preliminary findings and conclusions. They highly appreciated the democratic reforms that the authorities are implementing in Armenia. The guests welcomed the adoption of new Electoral Code and emphasized that, despite the shortcomings mentioned in their preliminary report, the elections were well administered.

Edward Nalbandian noted that these elections were very important amid the transition to the parliamentary system of governance. In all stages of the reforms implemented in this regard the authorities of Armenia have closely cooperated with their international partners, all of whom have highly commended the process. Minister Nalbandian emphasized that the reforms of the electoral process were aimed at conducting free and fair elections, which was evident from the recent elections.

Minister of Foreign Affairs particularly stressed the inclusive nature of elaboration of the Electoral Code with participation of all political forces represented in the parliament and representatives of the civil society, which was a significant step in further strengthening public trust towards the electoral process.

Minister said that the respect of fundamental freedoms, well-organized electoral process, considerable improvement of the accuracy of voters’ lists, creation of competitive and equal conditions for all political forces, use of new technologies, ensurance of secrecy of vote, transparency in vote counting greatly contributed to the success of the electoral process.

He added that the publication of the signed voters' lists after election day is an unprecedented move within the context of making the electoral process even more transparent. The Minister also underlined that the state has encouraged and did not limit in any way the engagement of observers, the number of which reached 30000. Around 1200 journalists were accredited to cover the elections.

The Heads of the missions thanked for the invitation to observe elections. They commended the authorities of Armenia for ensuring conducive working conditions for the observation missions and for close cooperation. The importance of further cooperation on electoral processes was mutually highlighted.