Parliamentary Elections, 2 April 2017

Following an official invitation to observe the parliamentary elections scheduled for 2 April 2017, based on the findings and conclusions of the Needs Assessment Mission deployed from 30 November to 2 December 2016, and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE/ODIHR deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) for these elections.

Mission at a glance

• Head of Mission: Ambassador Jan Petersen
• Core team of 14 experts from 13 OSCE participating States, based in Yerevan
• 28 long-term observers to be deployed throughout the country
• 250 short-term observers to be requested from participating States

Mission schedule

21 February:    Opening press conference

27 February:    Arrival of long-term observers

28 February:    Briefing of long-term observers

1 March:          Deployment of long-term observers

29 March:        Arrival of short-term observers

30 March:        Briefing of short-term observers

31 March:        Deployment of short-term observers

2 April:            Election day

3 April:            Press conference on preliminary findings and conclusions

5 April:            Departure of short-term observers

8 April:            Departure of long-term observers

14 April:          Departure of the core team

Long-term observation

The OSCE/ODIHR EOM, headed by Ambassador Jan Petersen, consists of 14 international experts based in Yerevan. In addition, 28 long-term observers will be deployed throughout the country from 2 March.

The OSCE/ODIHR EOM will assess these elections for compliance with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation. Observers will closely monitor voter registration, candidate registration, 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. As part of the observation, the mission will also monitor the media coverage of the campaign.

Election Day

The OSCE/ODIHR will request participating States to second 250 short-term observers (STOs) to observe voting, counting, and the tabulation of results. STOs will be deployed in multinational teams of two to monitor the opening of polling stations, the voting, the counting of ballots, and the tabulation of results..  

The day after the election, ODIHR, together with its parliamentary partners, will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions at a press conference. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be issued approximately eight weeks after the end of the electoral process.

Co-operation with Other Partners

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe are planning to deploy observer delegations for these elections.

Previous elections

The OSCE/ODIHR has observed nine elections in the country and most recently the 2015 constitutional referendum.