ICES hails balanced media coverage of electoral processFebruary 7, 2013 - 14:00 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Long-term observers of International expert Center for Electoral Systems (ICES) held a working consultation with leadership of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Armenia and began a series of meetings with presidential candidates. The meetings with the candidates, as well as heads of state institutions, in charge of the legal conduction of the electoral process, will be held next week. Journalists included in the ICES observer group call attention to the large number of media outlets on the opposition candidates, particularly following Jan 31 assassination attempt on presidential hopeful Paruyr Hayrikyan. In this respect, the mission hails the balanced media approach to the occurrence, as well as candidate Hayrikyan’s decision not to delay the polls. Large number of publications reflected on the health condition of candidate Andrias Ghukasyan, who continues his hunger strike, hopeful Aram Harutyunyan’s statement expressing readiness to withdraw candidacy after one-day hunger strike, as well as Arman Melikyan’s remarks slamming the electoral bribe his mother was offered. In conclusion, ICES mission states - media demonstrates transparency as to the coverage of electoral processes - media coverage reflects on the voters’ mood - Armenian media doesn’t discriminate between the presidential candidates, despite their large number Top stories Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to social media to thank his Lithuanian counterpart for the contribution. President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg. The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State to travel to Armenia Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs James C. O’Brien will travel to Yerevan on June 10-12. Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life, Strong Mind IDBank and Idram summarize the results of the May program of “The Power of One Dram”. |