On February 9 the Special Representative of the CoE Secretary General to Armenia Bojana Urumova stated at the National Press Club that the PACE Resolution #1532 on the commitments of Armenia adopted on January 23 includes the statements by the CoE representatives voiced for a number of times, namely no fair and free election has been held in Armenia since 1991, but Armenia cannot allow electoral fraud any more. Bojana Urumova said Europe will not tolerate electoral fraud any more. She said the Electoral Code is not perfect and faultless but if it is performed appropriately, there will be more possibility for conducting a fair election, she said.

If electoral fraud is reported, the question of powers of the Armenian delegation to the PACE may be raised, which implies a blow at the position of this country, for if it is raised, it already produces a negative impression. Hopefully, it will not happen, she said. Bojana Urumova says all the Armenian delegates voted for Resolution #1532, which means Armenia accepts the points of the resolution.

The CoE representative considers the Armenian defense minister’s statement that he wishes a free and fair election as a confirmation. Meanwhile, Bojana Urumova declines to comment on the opposition’s statement that distributing aid before the election means the election will not be fair. She advised to wait until the voting and the evaluation of the observers. She said the observers will dwell on the donations as well. Bojana Urumova hopes that the CoE observers will be invited. She stated that the observers are expected to arrive before the voting day. The CoE will hold trainings for voters to convey the value of their vote to the voters. Besides, the role of the media is also important, and Bojana Urumova suggests revising the order of setting up the boards of the National Committee of Television and Radio and the Public Television. However, she thinks that application of the law is as importance as their adoption. The CoE observers will dwell on the price of airtime for political ads as well. The Caucasian Media Institute is already carrying out a monitoring of this sphere.

Armenia cannot repeat electoral fraud and assessment of the outcome of previous elections, said the special representative of the CoE Secretary General. The forces which have political importance and the Central Electoral Commission are responsible, as well as the opposition whom Bojana Urumova advises not to repeat their behavior in 2005, i.e. not to boycott the election.