Brussels, 08/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - President Serzh Sargsyan's Republican Party carried the day in the parliamentary elections - which were viewed a test of support ahead of next year's presidential vote - in Armenia on Sunday 6 May, according to preliminary results published on Monday. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said, however, that shortcomings had undermined confidence in the process and that “the international commitments to which Armenia has freely subscribed were not always respected”.
On Tuesday 8 May, EU High Representative Catherine Ashton and European Commissioner Stefan Füle welcomed the initial findings and conclusions of the observation mission on the conduct of elections and “the efforts by the Armenian authorities to hold these parliamentary elections in a way which represents progress towards more transparent and competitive elections”.
However, the EU goes on, “the elections also demonstrated the need to address a number of issues in order to fully meet internationally recognised democratic standards. We encourage the Armenian authorities to address the shortcomings identified by OSCE/ODIHR as a matter of priority” ahead of the upcoming presidential elections next year. The EU urges all political forces to refrain from unlawful acts and to pursue political dialogue. Sunday's election, the first national election since the presidential vote in 2008, was seen as a test for this former soviet Caucasian republic
Sargsyan's Republican Party came out on top with 44.05% of the vote, followed by its ally in the governing coalition, the Prosperous Armenia party, led by millionaire and former arm-wrestling champion Gagik Tsarukyan, which won 30.2% of the votes cast. In third place, with 7.1% of votes, came the Armenian National Congress, led by former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who spearheaded the opposition after the controversial presidential election of 2008. (LC/transl.rt)