“Final Report on the Observation Mission of Snap Elections of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on December 9, 2018” was presented during a public discussion held on April 8, 2019. It reflects the results of long-term and short-term observation of snap parliamentary elections conducted by "Akanates"" ("Eyewitness") observation mission, assessing the compliance of pre-election, election day and post-election processes to electoral legislation of Armenia and international standards, as well as possible risks of processes from the point of view of holding free, transparent and competitive elections.

For the first time from November 5 to December 23, 2018, 35 long-term observers of “Akanates” observation mission monitored pre- and post-election processes within the service areas of all 38 Territorial Election Commissions of the Republic.

As for the short-term observation, for the first time in Armenia the sample-based observation (SBO) methodology was applied during national elections, which allowed to have the general picture on elections at the Republic level through collection of data from selected polling stations. On the election day, "Akanates" conducted observation in 300 polling stations throughout the Republic of Armenia (15% of the total), with involvement of 575 observers. Besides that, 52 groups of mobile observers were operating on the election day, who visited 552 polling stations, observing the situation inside and outside of stations, as well as surrounding areas of campaign offices of political parties and party alliances. Video recording and broadcasting devices of 500 polling stations within the service areas of 13 territorial elections commissions were monitored during different hours of the day by a group of volunteers from the Diaspora.

Based on critical violations recorded in the electoral process, in total, 26 complaints were submitted to Territorial Election Commission, 20 complaints – to Central Election Commission, 16 appeals to the Administrative Court of RA, complaints to Courts of Appeal and Cassation for 4 cases, 4 written and oral crime reports to the Special Investigation Service and Police. A part of complaints is still in process.

"Akanates" ("Eyewitness") observation mission was carried out with the financial support by the European Union, US Agency for International Development, National Democratic Institute, National Endowment for Democracy and Open Society Foundations.

The general assessment of "Akanates" observation mission on 2018 snap parliamentary elections in Armenia is presented in the report: https://bit.ly/2VE6W7v