What follows is the passage of the February 19 U.S. State Department Press Briefing delivered by Victoria Nuland regarding the presidential election in Armenia.

QUESTION: Any updates on Armenia’s presidential elections? That’s my question.

MS. NULAND: On Armenia?

QUESTION: Armenia held presidential elections. Thank you.

MS. NULAND: Yeah. According to the preliminary results from the Central Election Commission, incumbent President Sargsian has won these elections by 58.64 percent. We support the conclusions of the OSCE ODIHR observer mission in their preliminary conclusions that the elections were generally well administered and characterized by a respect for fundamental freedoms, including those of assembly and expression.

We do note that ODIHR also noted that the media fulfilled their legal obligation to provide balanced coverage and all contestants made use of their free air time. ODIHR was concerned about some lack of impartiality on the part of public administration officials and the misuse of administrative resources that resulted in a blurred distinction between the activities of the state and those of the ruling party. But in general, election day was calm and orderly and it was marked by undue – that in general, it was marked by a calm process. But there was some undue interference in the process, including by proxies representing the incumbent. And there were some serious violations that obviously need to be investigated, as ODIHR has called for.