ArmInfo. Head of the Investigative Committee of Armenia Aghvan Hovsepyan and Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Switalski discussed the Armenia-EU cooperation.
The press office of the Investigative Committee reports that the interlocutors also discussed the upcoming parliamentary elections and pointed out the importance of preventing any possible fraud. They also stressed the need to adequately assess such cases. The sides agreed to continue the discussions.
To note, on February 1 U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills said in his remarks to the American Chamber of Commerce of Armenia that the elections will be free and fair only if the government demonstrates the political will to make them so, and if the political opposition and civil society act to safeguard the process. "For free and fair elections to take place, the government must also create a climate in which media and civil society are free, independent, and unfettered. We have recently heard intimations of increased pressure on media and civil society that seems designed to constrain their freedom of expression and redirect critical editorial views in advance of the parliamentary elections this spring," he said.
"If true, this would be very worrying and would further erode Armenia's standing in reports issued by international organizations on press freedoms worldwide. We do take the government at its word that it intends to conduct free and fair elections, just as we take the opposition parties and civil society at their word that they intend to play a constructive role in the process, and this is something we'll be watching closely over the next few months," Ambassador Mills said.