 Several hundred international observers will monitor Armenia's parliamentary vote.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's election-monitoring arm, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), has sent some 29 long-term observers and expects an estimated 312 short-term observers for the May 12 elections. Smaller groups of observers have been dispatched by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (60), the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (31), the Commonwealth of Independent States (186), the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (52), and the European Parliament (8). The United States and the European Union say the vote will put the Armenian authorities' democratic credentials to the biggest test to date. The US has tied its proper conduct to the release of $235 million in economic assistance promised to Armenia under the Millennium Challenge Account. The EU, for its part, has warned that a repeat of serious fraud would endanger Armenia's participation in its European Neighborhood Program, a framework for privileged ties with the bloc.
Still, neither Western power has left any indication that it is ready to go further and ostracize the government formed as a result of a deeply flawed election. Some observers attribute this to international hopes for a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh before the end of this year.
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