ICES mission, Armenian FM discuss upcoming electionsFebruary 15, 2013 - 16:26 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Representatives of the observer mission of International expert Center for Electoral Systems (ICES) completed a series of meetings with presidential candidates and Armenian statesmen. On Feb 15, observers led by ICES head Alexander Tsinker met with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian. The upcoming presidential polls and the impact of the international developments on the course of the election campaign were in the focus of the discussion. Members of the mission and Minister Nalbandian conducted a comparative analysis of the presidential and 2012 parliamentary vote, with a parallel drawn between electoral systems of Armenia and other countries. The observers hailed the progress in the development of the electoral system of the country. Member of the mission, president of Independent American Center of Political Monitoring Lidia Lawson highly assessed Armenian ruling authorities’ work on the electoral code, based on the observations of the OSCE and Venice Commission. The international position of Armenia and South Caucasus region and the Nagorno Karabakh conflict resolution were further discussed. Top stories 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. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. Partner news | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. Prosecutors to appeal Armenia ex-President’s acquittal Sargsyan was acquitted on Friday, May 31 more than four years after going on trial on corruption charges. |