Category: News

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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A few hours ago, I informed that PAP has started recount process in a number of polling stations.

By combining the information received from different locations, we recorded the following picture:
According to the protocol of the commission in polling station 27/7, the “Prosperous Armenia” party received 77 votes, while 1 vote is indicated on the CEC website.

According to the protocol in polling station 12/20, 26 voters voted for PAP, and 1 vote is indicated on the CEC website.

According to the protocol in polling station 27/26, PAP received 19 votes, on the CEC website – 3 votes.

According to the protocol in polling station 37/53, PAP received 7 votes, on the CEC website – 4 votes.

These are undeniable facts, anyone can see these discrepancies on the CEC website.

The facts have been submitted to the CEC in working mode, and the data is in the process of being modified. We continue to make new records related to various polling stations and will provide relevant updates in the near future.

Iveta Tonoyan

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Against the backdrop of activist Artur Osipyan’s hunger strike, RA Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan commented on his arrest, stressing that the criminal prosecution is related exclusively to calls for violence against the Prime Minister, and not to harsh political criticism.

In a conversation with journalists, the representative of the ruling “Civil Agreement” party refused to evaluate purely legal processes, but noted that everyone is equal before the law, and turning a blind eye to crimes is unacceptable. The minister specifically clarified the episode of the famous phrase “giving the feathers to the wind” uttered by Osipyan. According to him, the head of the government, Nikol Pashinyan, was personally interested in that issue, and the law enforcement officers confirmed that there is no crime in the given sentence. The citizen’s arrest was based exclusively on calls for public violence.

Answering the question about the permissibility of harsh rhetoric, Papoyan clearly separated sharp criticism and incitement to violence. When the journalists reminded that the representatives of the government once used expressions such as “to plaster”, “to chalk” or “to cut” to the opponents, the minister described them as political speech. He emphasized that these statements were directed against those who threaten the sovereignty and peace of the state.

At the end of the conversation, the Minister of Economy emphasized that the names and statuses of persons are not important for the law enforcement system. any threat, regardless of the target, should receive an adequate response. In addition, Papoyan expressed his opinion about the non-standard political situation prevailing in Armenia, noting that, unlike the world practice, it is often the opposition that subjects the representatives of the government to verbal violence and pressure.

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The “Strong Armenia” opposition bloc has strongly criticized the parliamentary elections, speaking about mass pressures, misuse of administrative resources and numerous violations during the voting.

Alliance press secretary Marianna Ghahramanyan according to reports, the entire election process was accompanied by unprecedented persecutions organized by the government system. He noted that targeted pressures, illegal arrests and criminal prosecutions were applied to leaders, candidates and supporters of political forces during the pre-election period with the aim of hindering free competition.

According to the opposition, the levers of state and local self-government were widely used on the day of the election itself, and alarms were continuously received from different marzes of the republic regarding election violations.

The fact that Nikol Pashinyan announced the victory and the formation of a single government even before the final summary of the data by the Central Electoral Commission. Ghahramanyan described this phenomenon as an unprecedented and direct instruction to the CEC.

Under the existing conditions, the alliance believes that the published official figures do not reflect the true will of the citizens and need a deep legal and political evaluation. Currently, the central headquarters of the party is conducting a detailed analysis of the situation, after which the final position and further steps of the alliance will be presented.

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 only 4 percent of voters.

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The parliamentary elections held in Armenia on June 7 gave the citizens the opportunity to freely choose a political alternative, but the process was accompanied by external interference and pressure on the administrative apparatus.

This was announced by the special coordinator and head of the OSCE short-term observation mission Farah Karimsummarizing the election campaign and voting day monitoring results at the June 8 press conference.

According to international observers, the June 7 elections were the most serious and important test for the entire democracy of the republic. As the OSCE special coordinator noted, the voting took place in difficult geopolitical and security conditions. “These elections took place at a very important key stage of Armenia’s development and the country continues to navigate in this rather difficult democratic and geopolitical environment,” Farah Karimi emphasized during the press conference. At the same time, he added that during the entire pre-election campaign, external pressures had a great impact on the voters.

The cases of the use of administrative resources caused special concern for the mission. In particular, we are talking about forcing the employees of state institutions to participate in the events of the ruling party and using socio-economic levers, which overshadowed the freedom of opportunities. In addition, insufficient control over campaign finances has limited the transparency of the process and opportunities for public scrutiny.

The situation was further complicated by the arrests and prosecutions of opposition representatives, polarized media landscape and provocative misinformation. According to the head of the mission, these factors, along with continuous international pressures, challenged the democratic resilience of the state and the integrity of public discourse.

Despite the complications of the pre-election period, the actual voting process received a positive response from European experts. The OSCE observers highly appreciated the situation in the observed 1403 polling stations, which Karim characterized as a rather noticeable indicator.

According to the preliminary data of the Central Electoral Commission, about 1.47 million voters participated in the voting. According to the results of all 2005 precincts, three parties will enter the new parliament. The “Civil Agreement” party secured 49.8 percent of the results, while the “Strong Armenia” and “Armenia” blocs received 23.28 and 9.93 percent of the votes, respectively.

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The victory of Nikol Pashinyan’s ruling party in the parliamentary elections was severely criticized in Moscow. In the State Duma of the Russian Federation, they spoke about unprecedented violations during the voting and warned about the risks of the final severance of military-political ties between the countries, up to the withdrawal of the Russian military base.

According to the preliminary data of the Central Electoral Commission, after summarizing the results of all precincts, the “Civil Agreement” party received 49.81 percent of the votes. This figure is the current prime minister Nikol Pashinyan reserves the right to single-handedly form a new government to a political force. However, the results of the elections in Moscow were received with extreme skepticism.

First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on CIS Affairs of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Konstantin Zatulin In an interview given to the RTVI TV channel, he severely criticized the election process. The Russian parliamentarian expressed deep doubts about the legitimacy of the held elections, pointing out the unprecedented use of administrative resources by the authorities, mass arrests and gross violations of democratic procedures.

Evaluating the geopolitical prospects, Zatulin predicted the further separation of Yerevan from Moscow. According to him, remaining in power of the current leadership will lead to the final abandonment of Armenia’s military and political obligations towards Russia. The deputy emphasized that such a course will inevitably bring the issue of the future presence of the Russian military base in Gyumri to the agenda.

Referring to the economic sphere, the parliamentarian accused the Armenian authorities of conducting a policy of double standards. He reminded that against the background of freezing of membership in the CSTO, Yerevan is not in a hurry to leave the Eurasian Economic Union out of momentary financial gain.

At the same time, as the deputy notes, the Armenian authorities ignore the warnings of the Russian side that the modern European Union is increasingly turning into a militarized structure. Concluding the speech, Zatulin expressed his belief that the internal political pressures against the opposition in Armenia will only increase, although, according to his estimates, a significant part of the society does not share the current foreign policy course of the government.

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