Electoral Support Project in Armenia (ESPA and ESPA-2)

Minutes of Steering Committee Meeting N3

Location: Government Building #1 Date: 26 June 2019 Time: 11.00 am

Attendees:

# Organization Name Title 1. Government Mher Grigoryan Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia 2. Government Sedrak Barseghyan Head of Deputy Prime Minister’s Office 3. EU Gonzalo Serrano de la Rosa Head of Cooperation Section 4. EU Line Urban International Aid/Cooperation Officer 5. UK H.E. Judith Farnworth Ambassador 6. Sweden Maria Ermanno Faldner Chargé D’affaires 7. Japan H.E. Jun Yamada Ambassador 8. Japan Megumi Maekawa Second Secretary 9. UNDP Dmitry Mariyasin UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia 10. UNDP Alla Bakunts UNDP Democratic Governance Portfolio Analyst 11. UNDP Armen Harutyunyan Cooperation and Partnerships Officer 12. UNDP Shalva Kipshidze ESPA Chief Technical Adviser 13. UNDP Davit Khachatryan ESPA IT Expert 14. UNDP Araks Babayan ESPA Associate Project Coordinator 15. UNDP Sona Mirzoyan ESPA Project Associate for Training and Events

Agenda ✓ Welcoming Remarks by: Mher Grigoryan, Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Dmitry Mariyasin, UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia ✓ Update on ESPA and ESPA-2 activities by Shalva Kipshidze, ESPA Chief Technical Advisor and outline of the activities for the upcoming months ✓ Questions and answers from the Steering Committee members Wrap-up ✓ Signature of equipment transfer documents by Chief of Staff of Prime Minister of Armenia and UNDP Resident Representative

14, Petros Adamyan St. Yerevan 0010 - Armenia – Telephone +374 60 530000 - htt://www.undp.org.am

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Welcoming Remarks

Mher Grigoryan, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) of Armenia, welcomed all the stakeholders with a brief welcome notice, underlining the importance of credible elections and effective electoral processes in democratic governance. Dmitry Mariyasin, UNDP Resident Representative (RR) in Armenia, cordially greeted everyone and mentioned that at the current stage the Project’s main focus will be sustainability, setting 2019-2020 goal the preparedness to hold a referendum at full national capacity without the major support of international partners. The RR also thanked the Government of Armenia for the continuous support and effective day- to-day partnership, and the Government of Japan for the willingness to provide a generous support to the Project after the pre-term Parliamentary Elections 2018 aimed at strengthening the institutional and technical capacities of the CEC and serving as a cornerstone of the continued work to assure sustainability. Furthermore, the RR stressed the importance of having a coordinated approach among all the stakeholders and partners and mentioned the perspective of joining forces with the USAID and IFES. The DPM reiterated the significance of holding credible and transparent elections and expressed the Government and National Assembly’s strong wish and objective to make the electoral processes perfect, highlighting the interesting nature of the upcoming works and the important role that the international donors and partners can play through continuous support.

Update on ESPA and ESPA-2 activities and outline of the activities for the upcoming months

Shalva Kipshidze, the ESPA CTA went on updating the Steering Committee on the progress of the key activities envisaged in the Project: UNDP Electoral Support Projects in Armenia in Post-Election period are focused on increasing capacity of the CEC in main aspects of electoral pillars. While considering long-term impact in all of its activities, the focus of both ESPA and ESPA 2 is to support the CEC to: ✓ establish a fully sustainable nationally owned electoral process; ✓ enhance its operational and ICT capacity up to nowadays standards and according to the recognized best practices; ✓ ensure the long-term vision of the CEC and establish proper planning and reporting practices; ✓ establish the Strategic Planning process as the key for fully locally owned, self-driven and self- determined institution; ✓ establish Institutional strengthening priorities and develop the roadmap for the necessary internal reforms.

Immediately following the December 09, 2018 pre-term Elections, ESPA and ESPA 2 concentrated on capacity building activities pre-established in the workplans. The projects, within its established framework and capabilities, also continue to support Local Elections conducted and planned by the CEC. The key achievements in the last 6 months have been: ✓ Development of the e-Learning platform for the training and certification process of the Poll workers and VAD operators. Such platform will ease the process of the certification of the temporary Electoral staff and introduce them to online learning modules. In the future the CEC will be able to develop additional modules using the existing platform targeting variety of stakeholders (such as Polling Agents, Observers, etc.).

14 Petros Adamyan st., 0010 Yerevan, Armenia – Telephone +374 60 530000 - http://am.www.undp.org

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✓ Development of the CEC inventory software and system for the VAD’s procured by the previous SEPA and current ESPA projects. This system will help the CEC to establish the regular checkup of the electronic devices using local human resources and ensure full operational readiness of the CEC to prepare for any upcoming Elections swiftly and uninterruptedly. ✓ Development of the online application and certification system for the Precinct Electoral Commission (PEC) Members. This tool will ease the process of recruitment and certification and significantly reduce the time and resources spent in pre-Election period. ✓ Conduct of the hardware readiness assessment of the CEC ICT capacity and capabilities and initiation of the hardware procurement process. The CEC Server Room, Data Center and network hardware has not been updated since 2011. This process of significantly upgrading ICT capacities will enable the CEC to enhance its hardware and software capabilities and ensure the readiness for upcoming Electoral cycle and beyond. ✓ Support to the CEC for the first time to establish and equip its own Resource and Training Center. This will ensure that the CEC has dedicated facilities for training, usage of newly established e-Learning and online tools and will be the first step in initiation of the professional Training Department.

Visibility: ✓ UNDP Armenia regularly publishes the ESPA event stories on its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UNDPArmenia/posts/2074672995947292?__tn__=-R https://www.facebook.com/UNDPArmenia/posts/2105643206183604?__tn__=-R https://www.facebook.com/UNDPArmenia/posts/2133200273427897?__tn__=K-R

✓ EC-UNDP Joint Task Force publishes monthly reports of all UNDP EU funded Electoral Projects around the world, including Armenia: https://www.ec-undp-electoralassistance.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ec-undp-jtf-MR- April2019.pdf Dedicated website for the Project is under development and will be published shortly.

ESPA - Output 1: Credibility of the electoral process improved ✓ The Project supports CEC with development and implementation of various Electronic tools and Information Systems to improve the management processes. These systems include VAD inventory software and PEC candidate online registration system. These components will be part of the CEC Electoral Management System (EMS) – comprehensive Electoral ICT platform gradually developing within the CEC Armenia and will help the process of planning and monitoring of Electoral operational processes. (ESPA)

ESPA - Output 2: Inclusive Participation in the Elections Increased ✓ External Relations and Strategic Communications Workshop held at the CEC – April 2019. Gender Assessment of the CEC is conducted and report along with draft gender policy is being finalized. Workshops dedicated to women's participation in electoral process have been conducted for the CEC and TEC’s in February-May 2019. ESPA - Output 3: Capacity of the election management bodies augmented ✓ E-Learning Platform concept has been developed and implemented – March-June 2019 (ESPA and ESPA 2) ✓ Strategic planning process has been initiated and inception work is planned with the CEC to take place on July 08-12, 2019 (ESPA and ESPA 2) ✓ The Project is supporting the CEC to establish the dedicated Resource and Training Center. Tender was announced for equipping the Center to make it fully functional. (ESPA) 14 Petros Adamyan st., 0010 Yerevan, Armenia – Telephone +374 60 530000 - http://am.www.undp.org

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✓ Capacity building exercises including dedicated professional BRIDGE (Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections) trainings have been planned with the CEC during the year 2019. (ESPA and ESPA 2) ✓ The Project continues to support the CEC with dedicated professional trainings provided to the ICT staff. (ESPA and ESPA 2) ✓ Electoral Campaign Finance Training was delivered by UNDP ESPA in collaboration with IFES on June 20-21, 2019. (ESPA) ✓ BRIDGE training on Legal and Electoral Dispute Resolution is planned to take place for the CEC on July 15-19, 2019. (ESPA) ✓ The Project supports the CEC with proper inventory and the regular maintenance of the electoral hardware. This will ensure that the equipment is operational at all times and ready for instant deployment, as necessary. (ESPA) ESPA 2 – Activity 2.2: Procurement and Customization of the software, development of the system ✓ The Project has initiated hardware procurement for the CEC to enhance the Data Center and IT capacities of the CEC. ✓ The Project has initiated hardware enhancement of the Police Visa and Passport Department and the CEC systems in order to eliminate manual data exchange of the Voter data between the agencies. Key challenges Some ICT components of the project will be dependent on possible changes in Electoral Code in particular in connection with the usage of Voter аuthentication devices on Election Day or other technology related matters.

Project Management / Staffing

As of 26 June, the following staff are recruited by the Project: • Chief Technical Advisor • Associate Project Coordinator • Project Assistant • Translator • Project Associate for Training and Events • ICT Expert / Team Leader • IT Support and Monitoring Specialist • IT Web Developer

As necessary, the Project recruits national or international short-term consultants as well. Against all these activities, the Project is keeping day-to-day operations and action to supporting the effortless flow of activities. The other project management updates can be found in monthly reports disseminated during the 3rd steering committee meeting.

DECISIONS / ACTIONS:

As a result of the signature of equipment transfer documents by Chief of Staff of Prime Minister of Armenia and UNDP Resident Representative, out of the 13 servers of the live streaming / recording central server unit 4 servers were allocated to the CEC and 9 servers – to the Government.

14 Petros Adamyan st., 0010 Yerevan, Armenia – Telephone +374 60 530000 - http://am.www.undp.org

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Due to currency exchange process to USD and the difference in the timeline of transfers of the contributions, some of the amounts mentioned on the cover page of the project document are redundant and will need an update. The correct version of the cover page will be disseminated with the current minutes via email to SC members.

Q&A

Gonzalo Serrano de la Rosa, Head of Cooperation Section (EU), found the Government and National Assembly’s commitment to sustainable electoral processes in Armenia very encouraging, and asked for updates on the timeframe and action plan of the 2020 Legislative Reform agenda to ensure the inclusiveness of the process, and particularly inquired about the matters related to the political party financing and implementation of nationwide Electronic IDs. Mr. Gonzalo Serrano de la Rosa also stressed the importance of CEC representation in the SC meetings.

Mher Grigoryan, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), thanked for the questions and informed the stakeholders about the Government’s plan to organize a comprehensive meeting with all the stakeholders, including the Members of Parliament, to discuss the issues related to the political party financing. The DPM found the question about the digitization and modernization of public services very important and highlighted that the implementation of nationwide Electronic IDs will not only contribute to fully transparent elections but will also improve the overall quality of the Government’s communication chain. The DPM also mentioned that Mr. Tigran Mukuchyan, CEC Chairman, was not able to attend the SC meeting due to a duty trip abroad, and, prior to the meeting they had a telephone conversation according to which the CEC was pleased with the Project results and completely in accordance with the Project activities.

Maria Ermanno Faldner, Chargé D’affaires (Sweden), who had arrived in Armenia only three days ago, introduced herself and underlined the Swedish Government’s initiative and bilateral agreement with the Government of Armenia to support the upcoming reforms and sustainable democracy with a particular emphasis on the promotion of women’s political representation and participation. Ms. Maria Ermanno Faldner also mentioned that Ararat Mirzoyan’s recent official visit to the Kingdom of Sweden and meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of International Development and Cooperation and the King of Sweden, His Excellency Carl XVI Gustaf opened up a new and more active cooperation agenda.

H.E. Jun Yamada, Ambassador of Japan, highlighted that the Government of Japan is pleased be able to join the second phase of the Project, and mentioned that it was only due to technical issues that the Government of Japan missed the opportunity to contribute to the pre-term Parliamentary elections in December 2018.

Judith Farnworth, UK Ambassador, stressed the importance of assuring the sustainability of the Project. Ms. Ambassador also emphasized the excellent cooperation with all the partners and stakeholders and suggested showcasing the pre-term Parliamentary elections of 9 December 2018 as a success story and a great example for other countries.

Dmitry Mariyasin, UNDP Resident Representative (RR) in Armenia, reflected on the comments mentioning that Mr. Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator, is also in favor of holding a comprehensive meeting with all the stakeholders, including the CSOs and US colleagues, to discuss the reform agenda. The RR noted that the Government of Sweden was the first to offer support to the Project and welcomed the newly appointed Chargé D’affaires to Armenia. In the end, the RR once again 14 Petros Adamyan st., 0010 Yerevan, Armenia – Telephone +374 60 530000 - http://am.www.undp.org

United Nations Development Program 6 emphasized sustainability as the main focus of the Project at the current stage and informed that at the end of the year within the scope of the Electoral Support Projects in Armenia (ESPA and ESPA-2) an experience sharing conference is planned to be held.

NEXT MEETING

The next Steering Committee (or a broader Ambassadorial group) meeting will be scheduled tentatively at the end of September 2019. Minutes of the this (third) Steering Committee Meeting will be approved at the next meeting.

END. ------

Mher Grigoryan, Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Date: Signature

Dmitry Mariyasin, UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia Date: Signature

Gonzalo Serrano de la Rosa, Head of Cooperation Section - EU Date: Signature

H.E. Judith Farnworth, UK Ambassador Date: Signature

Maria Ermanno Faldner, Chargé D’affaires Date: Signature

H.E. Jun Yamada, Ambassador - Japan Date: Signature

14 Petros Adamyan st., 0010 Yerevan, Armenia – Telephone +374 60 530000 - http://am.www.undp.org