Alarms regarding the transparency of envelopes during the parliamentary election voting in Armenia turned into a debate between independent observers and the Central Electoral Commission. Civil society points to the existence of envelopes of different printing quality, while the CEC insists on maintaining a uniform printing standard.

Representative of the “Independent Observer” alliance Daniel Ioannisyan in other words, envelopes with different levels of transparency are circulated in different polling stations. He assumes that these accessories, which differ from each other in appearance, may have been printed in different batches or in different periods.

The human rights defender noted that although under normal conditions he could not mark the ballot, but under certain lighting conditions the voter’s vote can become visible, directly endangering the secrecy of the election.

In response to these concerns, the Central Electoral Commission reaffirmed its earlier position, excluding the presence of envelopes of different origins. The department officially assured that all electoral documentation, including ballots and envelopes, were printed exclusively in one place, “Tigran Mets” publishing house.

Let’s remind that on June 7, parliamentary elections are held in Armenia, where the ruling “Civil Agreement” party and a number of opposition forces, including the “Armenia” and “Strong Armenia” blocs, are fighting for seats in the National Assembly. Voting is taking place in conditions of exceptionally high voter activity. as of 5:00 p.m., the turnout was close to 49%, significantly exceeding the 2021 special election data.

The electoral process is accompanied by marked tension. the opposition and independent observers warn about massive violations, use of administrative resources and problems of secrecy of voting. Law enforcement agencies report dozens of incidents and arrests on suspicion of voter bribery and re-voting, while government officials warn to prevent post-election destabilization and any attempt to encroach on the constitutional order with all the strictness of the law.