Yerevan, November 30 – The US Department of State’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs joined today observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) questioning the credibility of the official results of the November 27 constitutional referendum, saying in a statement that “the United States recognizes the substance of the provisions considered by the referendum as potentially strengthening democratic institutions in Armenia”, but “shares the regret of the Council of Europe, whose observers called into serious question the voter turnout figures for the referendum reported by the Armenian government.’
“We also regret that the Government of Armenia chose not to invite observers from the OSCE’s Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, who could have given greater credibility to the results of the voting, it said calling on the government of Armenia to investigate Council of Europe observer reports of serious abuses and fraud.
“It is clear that there is room for improvement in the voting process between now and the 2007-2008 parliamentary and presidential elections. We are working closely with the Government of Armenia, political parties, and with civil society to implement a package of democracy-building measures aimed at helping Armenia achieve free and fair elections in 2007-2008,” the statement said.
News selected by Luc MATHIAS, source ArmenPress
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