OSCE Office in Yerevan

Supporting electoral reform

Supporting electoral reform in Armenia is one of the priorities of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. It co-operates closely with the National Assembly, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) and civil society to bring Electoral Code legislation into full compliance with international election standards. It also relies on post-election recommendations issued by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Council of Europe's Venice Commission to promote legislative reform.

The Office assists in the training and capacity-building of election officials. In 2007, it supported the publication of a training manual and reference material outlining the voting process. The publications were used to train election commission members and were distributed to a wide array of election stakeholders. A video describing electoral procedures will be produced to supplement the written materials for the second round of training sessions, which will be conducted before the 2008 presidential elections.

The Office regularly organizes events where CEC members and staff can exchange experiences and learn about election administration practices in OSCE participating States. It also supports the printing of election-related materials and assists civil society initiatives aimed at raising public awareness of electoral procedures.

The Office regularly chairs a Working Group on Elections involving the main international donors, which serves as a forum for information and co-operation on election-related assistance.

Promoting freedom of assembly

The Office supports and promotes the right to freedom of assembly in general, but also in the specific context of election campaigning, when the right to conduct peaceful rallies becomes one of the criteria for evaluating a country's compliance with international standards for democratic elections.

Since 2003, the Office has worked towards the adoption of a progressive legislative framework guaranteeing freedom of assembly. It facilitated an expert review by the ODIHR and the Venice Commission of the Law on Conducting Rallies, Demonstrations and Marches, which was passed by the National Assembly in April 2004.

The Office promotes discussions with the Armenian authorities, representatives of political parties and non-governmental organizations, helping to develop recommendations to promote proper implementation of existing legal provisions. In addition, it produces public service announcements to raise awareness of the right to hold peaceful gatherings.