The standard formula "free and fair" was never used. But international observers' preliminary findings about Armenia's May 12 parliamentary vote were as close as the country has come to an evaluation of its elections as "democratic."

"The Armenian elections were an improvement from previous elections and were conducted largely in accordance with international standards for democratic elections," Tone Tingsgaard, vice-president of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, told a May 13 press conference in Yerevan. "Now additional efforts are needed to consolidate the Armenian democracy. It will require a joint effort and will of all political forces."

Several hundred observers monitored the elections under the auspices of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the Council of Europe.

Vote counting concluded by late afternoon on May 13. Preliminary official vote results show a clean sweep of the polls by the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, with 32.8 percent of the votes cast. Pro-government newcomer Prosperous Armenia Party trailed in second place with 204,443 votes (14.7 percent), followed by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, a junior government coalition member. Among opposition parties, only the Country of Law and Heritage Parties crossed the 5 percent barrier to take seats in parliament.

"The conduct of the voting was assessed positively in the vast majority of polling stations observed and the vote count, although very slow, was mostly conducted in a correct manner", commented Tingsgaard, who oversaw the OSCE/ODHIR short-term monitors.

Observers congratulated Armenians for 'displaying the will for holding democratic elections', with Leo Platvoet, head of the PACE delegation, adding that they had been "deeply moved by the motivation of voters" and election commissions "to do their democratic duties."

The findings effectively eliminate the concern that a harsh international assessment could cost Armenia its US-funded $235 million Millennium Challenge program or closer ties with the European Union.

Reactions to the findings from some local non-governmental organizations and civil society activists were far from sanguine, however. Terming the observers' assessments a "joke," one member of the youth group Sksel a (It's Started) argued that they'd given a message to Armenians. "We must rely on ourselves to protect our democracy," he said. "Not on others."

Opposition parties, local observers and journalists had made frequent reference to payment for votes and passport data, party-organized transportation to polls and distribution of special pens for marking ballots. Observers, however, held that voters were able to vote without outside pressure.

"We heard about it," said OSCE/ODIHR Ambassador Boris Frlec, who headed the organization's long-term mission, in response to these reports. "We have seen queues [of people outside polling stations, a fact attributed by some observers to both overcrowding and vote buying - ed] but we haven't witnessed any distribution of election bribes. Perhaps because such things are done with more caution."

Despite the largely positive evaluation, the PACE's Platvoet elaborated that the campaign and election had had both positive and negative characteristics. "It's not black, and it's not white," he said. "But it's more white than black."

Among the positive aspects: extensive media coverage of the campaign as well as free airtime on public television, "inclusive" candidate registration, and an allegedly "permissive environment" for posting campaign ads.

"We saw serious efforts of the authorities to address problems that marked previous elections and to have a healthy election campaign," said the OSCE/ODIHR's Ambassador Boris Frlec, who oversaw the organization's 29 long-term observers.

The vote counting process was less positively evaluated. While the observers found that "[c]ounting mostly was conducted procedurally correctly," the report noted that 20 percent of Armenia's 1,923 constituency election commissions had "difficulties compiling the protocols" to accompany results submitted to territorial election commissions. "Deliberate falsification" was noted at polling stations in several territorial election commissions. Carousel voting and vote buying were also observed, the report said. In one constituency, representatives of the pro-government Prosperous Armenia Party made off with the ink pad for the election commission's official stamp, bringing voting to a temporary halt.

In remarks to journalists, however, some observers were careful to moderate their response to the most recently published election results. Asked to comment on whether or not observers were satisfied that preliminary results were correct, OSCE PA Vice President Tingsgaard stated that she was "not fully acquainted with the findings," adding that she hoped that the results " reflect the will of the people."

The "intertwining between business and political interests" was another defect noted by Leo Platvoet, head of the PACE delegation. blurry dividing line between the official responsibilities of political leaders and their campaign activities was also noted; in particular, with reference to Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, head of the Republican Party.

But observers maintained that the shortcomings did not have a significant impact on the election. Nonetheless, they stressed, monitoring would continue.

T]hese elections are not over yet," the OSCE/ODIHR's Ambassador Frlec said. "We will continue to follow the post-election developments and only after their completion will we have the complete picture."

The OSCE/ODIHR's final report on the parliamentary campaign and election will be published in two months.

Editor's Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a reporter for the independent online ArmeniaNow weekly in Yerevan. Elizabeth Owen, EurasiaNet's Caucasus news editor, contributed reporting to this article.