The parliamentary elections held in Armenia on June 7 were positively evaluated by international observers. The CIS observation mission described the voting process as open, competitive and in accordance with international standards, noting the leadership of the ruling “Civil Agreement” party.

Head of Mission Nurlan Seitimov during a briefing with journalists on June 8, he emphasized that the electoral process was organized strictly in accordance with the requirements of the country’s Constitution and the Electoral Code. According to him, the voting took place in the conditions of active political competition, and the technical equipment of the precincts ensured almost uninterrupted work. The vote counting procedure also inspired confidence in the observers. it was carried out under multi-party control, guaranteeing full transparency of the process.

Referring to the shortcomings recorded during the electoral process, CIS representatives assured that they were purely technical and local in nature. The regional committees were able to solve the problems very quickly. The mission’s official statement emphasizes that no violations of such volume or nature were found that could distort the final results of the elections in any way.

According to the official results of the parliamentary elections, the “Civil Agreement” party led by Nikol Pashinyan collected 49.81 percent of the voters’ votes. The “Strong Armenia” alliance with 23.28 percent and the “Armenia” alliance with 9.93 percent came in the second and third places, respectively.

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The Investigative Committee of Armenia arrested a man who came from Russia to take part in the parliamentary elections on suspicion of concealing information about a crime being prepared.

According to the official statement of the department, Hovhannes Sahakyan, having definite knowledge of the planned crime, deliberately did not inform the RA law enforcement agencies. Regarding the incident, a criminal proceeding was initiated in the main department of investigation of crimes against the state, fundamentals of the constitutional order and public security of the Investigative Committee under the article of non-reporting of the crime. According to the decision of the investigator, the citizen is under arrest, the investigation is ongoing.

It is noteworthy that some time before the arrest, the suspect was frank about his upcoming plans in a conversation with journalists. He stated that he arrived with his family solely to vote and intends to leave the country on the same day in order to avoid possible complications in the background of the expected post-election tension.

Law enforcers remind that according to the current legislation, a person accused of a crime is considered innocent until proven guilty by a legally binding court verdict.

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Since the evening of the previous day, we have been witnessing various arithmetic magic related to the votes received by the “Prosperous Armenia” party. During the counting of votes, one number was reflected on the CEC website, and with each subsequent update, a different number appeared, and it decreased.

At this moment, the pre-election headquarters of the “Prosperous Armenia” party announces that it will apply for a recount, will use all legal instruments and will pursue the disclosure of election violations.

Currently, the polling stations in which a recount will be required are being finalized, as well as the grounds for appealing individual decisions and actions are being discussed.

Moreover, the mentioned does not exclude the appeal of the election results in any way, taking into account the huge volume of election violations that we have witnessed in the entire election process.

Iveta Tonoyan

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The observation mission of the American International Republican Institute (IRI) recognized the parliamentary elections held in Armenia on June 7 as fair and credible. Despite the complex geopolitical environment and attempts at external informational pressures, the general vote took place in calm conditions, without violations of a systemic nature.

Peter Roskam, head of the mission, former member of the US House of Representatives and president of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), stated at the press conference in Yerevan that the electoral process and the counting of votes were organized at a high level and in accordance with the current legislation. 23 delegates from seven countries participated in the monitoring. they visited more than a hundred polling stations in different communities of the republic, recording the wide involvement of political forces and observers.

In the report, key attention was paid to the factor of external interference. Stephen Nix, senior director of IRI’s Europe and Eurasia programs, emphasized that Russia and its affiliates deliberately tried to influence pre-election sentiments. According to the mission’s assessment, mechanisms of economic pressure were used, misinformation was spread, which presented the rapprochement between Armenia and the West as a path to war or economic collapse. Fake social accounts, bots, artificial intelligence generated content, combined with cyber attacks on the website of the Central Electoral Commission were actively used to promote these narratives.

Nevertheless, election commissions at all levels have managed to maintain the integrity of the process, allowing political forces to conduct free and unfettered campaigns. As a step towards the further development of the system, IRI presented a number of recommendations. The main emphasis was placed on ensuring the transparency of political financing, tightening the penalties for falsification of declarations and effectively fighting against the misuse of administrative resources. The institute’s long-term observers will continue their work in Armenia, following possible court disputes and post-election developments, and the final and summary report will be presented to the public within the next two months.

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The “Eyewitness” observation mission summarized the preliminary results of the monitoring of the parliamentary elections in Armenia, recording the competitive and peaceful atmosphere of the voting in the context of some procedural violations.

During the June 8 press conference, the executive director of the Transparency International anti-corruption center Sona Ayvazyan reported that 648 observers followed the election process throughout the country. Most of them were on permanent duty in 260 precincts, which is about 13 percent of the total. The evaluation was carried out using the methodology of random sampling, which allows for an objective idea of ​​the quality of voting at the national level based on statistical data. As an additional support, more than fifty roving groups were also involved, which responded to hotline alarms, and a separate observation group established control in six penitentiary institutions.

According to the general assessment of the mission, the elections were marked by high citizen activity and took place in dynamic conditions. Nevertheless, negative incidents were also recorded, in which representatives of various political forces and alliances were involved.

Genya Petrosyan, director of the “Rights Development and Protection Fund”, detailed the emerging problems, pointing out cases of late opening of sites and defects in furnishing. In particular, in some places, the voting booths were placed in such a way that the principle of voting confidentiality was violated. Human rights defenders have also documented attempts to direct voters, organize transport and control the process, which inevitably had a certain impact on the overall quality of the electoral process.

According to the data of the Central Electoral Commission, the “Civil Contract” party led by Nikol Pashinyan won a convincing victory, receiving 49.81 percent of the votes. The second place was taken by Samvel Karapetyan’s “Strong Armenia” bloc with 23.29 percent of the votes, while the “Armenia” bloc led by former president Robert Kocharyan rounded out the top three with 9.94 percent of votes. Gagik Tsarukyan’s “Prosperous Armenia” party managed to secure the support of a little less than 4 percent of voters.

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Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, commented on the parliamentary elections held in Armenia on June 7, pointing out the Western interference and pressures on political opponents. Moscow emphasizes that the future of bilateral relations now depends on Yerevan’s practical steps.

According to preliminary assessments of the Russian Foreign Policy Department, the ruling “Civil Pact” party did not get a monopoly of power, and its level of support has noticeably decreased. As Zakharova stated, the voting process took place “under the conditions of unprecedented pressure on the opposition and interference by the West, first of all, by the EU”.

In Moscow, special attention was paid to the internal socio-political situation of the republic. The Russian diplomat noted that the entire pre-election campaign was accompanied by “harsh repression by the Armenian authorities”, and the Armenian Apostolic Church also came under this wave of persecution. According to him, the persecutions were directed exclusively against the forces that advocate Armenia’s participation in the Eurasian integration structures.

Despite this, the Russian Foreign Ministry is convinced that there is a “broad demand for proportional development of Russian-Armenian relations” in the country. At the same time, Zakharova noted that the elections clearly demonstrated the deep crisis in the society. He warned that making unilateral decisions without taking into account the opinions of all citizens means “leading the country to further division and socio-economic upheavals”.

Concluding the speech, the official representative emphasized that Russia has always been interested in a strong and truly sovereign Armenia. Speaking about future prospects of bilateral cooperation, Zakharova summarized. “We intend to build our course, taking into account the real steps of the Armenian leadership.”

According to the Central Electoral Commission: Nikol Pashinyan The “Civil Agreement” party led by The second place was taken by Samvel Karapetyan’s “Strong Armenia” bloc with 23.29 percent of the votes, while the “Armenia” bloc led by former president Robert Kocharyan rounded out the top three with 9.94 percent of votes. Gagik Tsarukyan’s “Prosperous Armenia” party managed to secure the support of only 4 percent of voters.

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