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The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an election observation mission for the 20 June early parliamentary elections in Armenia, following an invitation from the national authorities, the OSCE said in a statement. 

The mission is led by Eoghan Murphy and consists of 11 international experts from nine OSCE countries, who will be based in Yerevan.  In addition, ODIHR has requested to send 24 long-term observers, to be deployed throughout the country from 26 May.

The mission will assess to what extent the elections are held in line with international obligations and standards for democratic elections, including the commitments agreed to by all OSCE countries, as well as with national legislation. Observers will look closely at the legal framework and its implementation, and will follow campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies, including voter registration, and the resolution of election disputes. Media monitoring will also form an integral part of the observation.

ODIHR also plans to request 250 short-term observers from OSCE participating States to follow events on election day. However, this remains dependent on developments in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, including health concerns, travel and border restrictions across the OSCE region, and related regulations within Armenia.

Meetings with representatives of the state authorities, political parties, as well as with representatives from the judiciary, civil society and the media will take place throughout the observation. On election day itself, the ODIHR mission will join efforts with a delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA).

An interim report will be published to update the public and the media during the course of the observation. The day after the elections, a statement of preliminary findings will be presented at a press conference.

A final report summing up the observation of the entire electoral process will be published approximately two months after the election process has ended.