Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

Following an official invitation from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, the OSCE/ODIHR deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to observe the parliamentary elections on 12 May 2007.

The National Assembly of Armenia consists of 131 members elected for a five-year term. 90 members are elected through proportional representation based on national lists and 41 members are elected in single-mandate constituencies.

The OSCE/ODIHR EOM and the OSCE Office in Yerevan operate independently according to distinct mandates.

Long-Term Observation

The EOM, headed by Ambassador Boris Frlec, consisted of 13 core staff based in Yerevan, drawn from 12 OSCE participating States. Some 29 long-term observers were deployed throughout the country on 25 March.

The EOM assessed the parliamentary elections for their compliance with principles for democratic electoral processes, including commitments agreed to by all OSCE participating States, as well as with national legislation. Observers closely monitored campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant governmental bodies, election-related legislation and its implementation, the media environment, and the resolution of election-related disputes.

Election Day

The OSCE/ODIHR requested 300 short-term observers from participating States who were deployed immediately prior to the elections.

In the framework of election observation, on the basis of its methodology, the OSCE/ODIHR co-operates with a number of international parliamentary and other bodies in the OSCE region. These are the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), as well as, in most instances, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the European Parliament (EP) and on occasion - the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) and/or the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe.

The OSCE/ODIHR and the OSCE PA enjoy a specific co-operation in the area of election observation, based on the Co-operation Agreement signed by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and the President of the OSCE PA in 1997.

The OSCE/ODIHR long-term mission joined efforts with a delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, which was headed by Ms. Tone Tingsgaard, Vice President, OSCE PA. The OSCE/ODIHR long-term mission also co-operated with delegations from the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament. The OSCE Chairman-in-Office designated a special co-ordinator for short-term observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

The day after the election, the EOM issued a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be issued approximately eight weeks after the end of the observation mission.

Previous Elections

The OSCE/ODIHR observed elections in Armenia in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2003.