In response to an invitation from Armenia's Foreign Ministry, ODIHR deployed an election observation mission on 15 January to monitor both rounds of the presidential election on 19 February and 5 March.

Headed by Peter Eicher of the United States, the mission included 30 experts and long-term observers from 15 OSCE participating States in Yerevan and seven other cities.

The mission was joined by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for both rounds of the election. Together, they deployed 233 observers from 35 OSCE participating States for the first round and 193 observers from 21 OSCE participating States for the second round.

According to the mission's final report: "The 19 February and 5 March 2003 presidential election in the Republic of Armenia fell short of international standards for democratic elections. While the election involved a vigorous countrywide campaign, the overall process failed to provide equal conditions for the candidates. Voting, counting and tabulation showed serious irregularities, including widespread ballot box stuffing."