U.S. Embassy officials discuss elections assistance with Armenia's Central Electoral Commission
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. On November 21, U.S. Embassy Chargé d'Affaires Rafik Mansour and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Armenia Mission Director Deborah Grieser met with Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Armenia Tigran Mukuchyan, the U.S. Embassy told Armenpress. The parties discussed U.S. assistance and collaboration with the Government of Armenia ahead of the December 9 parliamentary elections, including the September 2018 signing of an $8 million, four-year agreement to support the integrity of Armenian elections.
This new $8 million agreement builds on the more than $640,000 that USAID already provided in June to assist the Armenian Government in its transition, including support of parliamentary elections, funding independent public opinion research, strategic communication training, and technical expertise on election observation for civil society groups.
"The U.S. government's ongoing and long-term assistance to electoral and political processes shows our commitment to a strong partnership with the Armenian government," Chargé d'Affaires Mansour said. "I am happy that USAID has been able to provide timely support to the Central Electoral Commission and the Government of Armenia, both during Yerevan's municipal elections in September and in preparation for the upcoming parliamentary elections."
The U.S. Government, through a partnership with the International Federation for Electoral Systems (IFES), is also supporting the CEC to promote the integrity of elections by assisting with the training of election officials and developing voter education materials and public service announcements. Participants will then train election officers in 2,000 Precinct Election Commissions across Armenia to facilitate the smooth and successful administration of the elections.