Armenia never had such elections: OSCE/ODIHR observation mission head

The basic freedoms of people have been maintained at the early parliamentary elections in Armenia, Ursula Gacek, head of the OSCE/ODIHR observation mission, said at a news conference today, reminding that today the world celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Gacek said that the majority of the people backed the authorities. “Such trust is extremely obliging, and the authorities must be able to satisfy people’s demand,” she said, adding that these elections passed without persecutions against candidates and voters. “Armenia has never had such elections,” she stated.

As to the observation that forces which have not passed to the parliament claim about threats being voiced during the election campaign, Gacek stressed that different groups visited them and stated about it. “The observation team demanded proofs. Of course there were bad speeches, hostile statements, not civilized rhetoric but all that was in the limits of permissible, live campaign,” she said.