The spokesperson for the European External Action Service said, on Tuesday 22 June, citing the preliminary assessment of the OSCE/ODIHR observation mission, that the early elections in Armenia on Sunday 20 June were competitive and generally well-managed within a short timeframe.
“Voters were provided with a broad range of options, and fundamental rights and freedoms were generally respected, with contestants being able to campaign freely”, the spokesperson said. Furthermore, according to the spokesperson, “the election day, including the vote count, was assessed positively overall”.
However, the OSCE/ODIHR mission noted that the election campaign was marked by “intense polarisation” and marred by increasingly inflammatory rhetoric among the key contestants, “hindering a policy-focused debate”. Women were notably side-lined during the election campaign, according to the OSCE.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian won the election with 53.9% of the vote, a result that the opposition is contesting, claiming fraud. “Any complaints or appeals regarding the electoral process should be addressed thoroughly and expeditiously using the appropriate procedures as foreseen in the legal framework of Armenia”, the EEAS spokesperson warned.
The spokesperson also called on all political forces to work together to effectively tackle the challenges Armenia is confronted with. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)