The Congress concludes an Electoral Assessment Mission to Yerevan, Armenia
Strasbourg, 15 May 2017 – A delegation of the Congress carried out an Electoral Assessment Mission to Armenia from 11 to 15 May 2017, in order to monitor the elections to the Council of Elders of the City of Yerevan scheduled for 14 May. Headed by Liisa Ansala (Finland, ILDG), the delegation consisted of 10 participants from eight Council of Europe Member States, including two members of the EU Committee of the Regions.
Prior to Election Day, high-level meetings were scheduled on 12 and 13 May in Yerevan, where the delegation notably exchanged views with Tigran Mukuchyan, President of the Central Election Commission of Armenia. In the context of the on-going reform of local self-government in Armenia, the delegation held meetings with representatives of the three associations of local authorities.
Furthermore, the delegation met representatives of the diplomatic corps, NGOs and the media in Yerevan. On 13 May, the delegation also discussed current issues in the Capital City with the candidates to the Council of Elders of Yerevan.
On Election Day, four Congress’ teams were deployed to different areas of the Capital City. The Electoral Assessment Mission will be followed by an Information Report to be discussed in the framework of the 33rd Congress Session, to be held in October 2017 in Strasbourg.
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Observing local and regional elections is one of the action priorities of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. This activity complements the political monitoring of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which constitutes the cornerstone of local and regional democracy in Europe. It contributes to ensuring the integrity of elections and building voters’ confidence at grassroots’ level. Since 1990, the Congress has conducted about 100 election observation missions in some of the 47 Council of Europe member states and beyond.
Contacts:
Renate ZIKMUND, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Head of the Division of Local and Regional Election Observation, Phone: + 33 659 786 455, email: [email protected]
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Planning, Coordination and institutional Communication Unit
Tel: +33 (0)3 90 21 48 95
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 27 51