The official representative of the headquarters of “Armenia” bloc—led by second President Robert Kocharyan—, constitutional expert and lawyer Aram Vardevanyan issued a statement Saturday in connection with acting PM Nikol Pashinyan’s Facebook live earlier in the day.
“Minutes ago, Nikol Pashinyan, a candidate for MP from the [ruling] Civil Contract Party, using his social status as the acting Prime Minister, made an announcement on his official Facebook page. With that, he issued a call and exhortation to “definitely” take part in the voting [in Sunday’s snap parliamentary elections].
First, the mentioned candidate violated the principle of observing the day of [election] silence. Second, using his status [as the acting PM]—the bodies of executive authorities’ service dependence on him—urged to take part in the vote, in the conditions when he is a candidate for prime minister of one of the 26 [political] forces.
This was a direct campaigning, with the use of administrative levers, allegedly assuming the function of the CEC [(Central Electoral Commission)].
We find that the CEC should immediately convene a session, and investigate—on the basis of this statement—this significant violation of the electoral process and which endangers its legality,” Vardevanyan noted in his statement.
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