Yerevan, 25 February 2019 – Today at the Government office, UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia Mr. Dmitry Mariyasin and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan Mr. Jun Yamada signed an agreement, officially announcing the start of a project on long-term capacity building of electoral management bodies of Armenia. On the same occasion, Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mr. Mher Grigoryan and Mr. Mariyasin signed the Project Document of the “Electoral Support Project in Armenia (ESPA)-2”, worth USD 1 million, which is funded by the Government of Japan and implemented by UNDP in Armenia.

The ESPA -2, building on the support provided by the international community (the European Union, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Sweden) and the Government of Armenia to the 2018 early parliamentary elections, aims to strengthen the institutional capacities of the Central Electoral Commission through modernization of its structure and planning processes, reorganization of resources, internal procedures as well as improved information and communication technologies.

The project, among others, will also support the enhancement of e-Learning platform, presenting Armenia as best practice in the region and beyond through International Electoral Technology Conference, development of IT and other capacities of electoral commissions, and strategic planning of the Central Election Commission․

The project will coordinate its activities with other international organizations providing electoral support outside of the project․