The February 18 presidential election in Armenia were generally well administered and characterized by a respect for fundamental freedoms, said US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland at a press briefing in Washington on Tuesday.
In her comments made at the briefing and published on the Department of State’s official website, Nuland said that the United States supported the preliminary conclusion of the OSCE/ODIHR observer mission published earlier that day.
“We do note that ODIHR also noted that the media fulfilled their legal obligation to provide balanced coverage and all contestants made use of their free air time. ODIHR was concerned about some lack of impartiality on the part of public administration officials and the misuse of administrative resources that resulted in a blurred distinction between the activities of the state and those of the ruling party. But in general, election day was calm and orderly and it was marked by undue – that in general, it was marked by a calm process,” said the US State Department spokeswoman.
“But there was some undue interference in the process, including by proxies representing the incumbent. And there were some serious violations that obviously need to be investigated, as ODIHR has called for,” concluded Nuland.
