On October 14, Alen Simonyan, the President of the National Assembly of Armenia received the representatives of the partner organizations of the program “Strengthening Electoral Processes and Political Accountability” (SEPPA), James De Witt, the Director of the Armenian branch of the International Republican Institute (IRI), Jerome Leyraud, the Chief of the Party of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) office in Armenia, Laura Nichols, the Senior Resident Director for the National Democratic Institute (NDI).
Alen Simonyan valued the efforts of the partner organizations to supporting the democratic processes and the effective implementation of the cooperative programs with the NA. The Head of the Parliament stressed the necessity of the continuous and beneficial cooperation with the international partners.
The main discussion was around SEPPA, implemented since 2018, the goals and features of the program were presented. It is a 7-year program funded by the Mission of The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the SEPPA. Cooperating with the government, parliament, parties and the stakeholders of the Armenian civil society, the programs help promoting the integrity of the elections. There was a reference to the gauge of the cooperation with a specific parliament. The goal of the cooperation with the parliament is supporting and developing the capacities of the Armenian NA to strengthen the efficiency of the activity of the legislature and the deputies of the Armenian NA.
The interlocutors valued the efficient cooperation and the exchange of the experience between the National Assembly and the existent international structures in Armenia. Alen Simonyan expressed readiness to support the development of the cooperation.