Epress.am News from Armenia
If European observers give a positive assessment to the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia, then the government will receive large grants from the European Union, reports local daily Haykakan Jamanak (“Armenian Times”).
The paper reports that such a message was conveyed to the Armenian government by European ambassadors in Armenia, assuring authorities that if the May elections are democratic and lawful, Armenia will receive an assistance of 100 million euros by September, and by year end there will be a conference of EU countries on Armenia, as a result of which the country will receive up to 1.5 billion euros in grants.
Thus, the paper reports, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s promise to hold free and fair elections is due to these sums.
As Today’s Zaman columnist Amanda Paul pointed out earlier this week: “It is clearly in Sargsyan’s own interest to deliver clean elections. With his mandate due to end in 2013, improving democratic standards and freedoms while promoting dialogue may offer him a better chance of being reelected in 2013.”