Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has explained why it will not hold repeat voting in three polling stations where the results of the June 7 parliamentary elections were annulled.

In a statement on Monday, the CEC said that a re-vote is not automatically required after invalidating results, and that any decision must ensure fairness and avoid creating new distortions in the electoral process, especially risks such as tactical voting.

Below is the full statement released by the CEC:

“The Central Electoral Commission should not automatically schedule a repeat vote after declaring election results in any polling station invalid. When making such a decision, the Commission must take into account the protection of voters’ true will and the assurance of the legality of election results. Therefore, the CEC must choose a remedy that is necessary under the given circumstances, proportionate, and does not create greater distortion than the violation it is intended to correct.

In the case of a partial re-vote, the following issue arises. Voters who participated in the main election cast their ballots at a time when the overall results were not known. They did not know who was leading, what the vote gap was, which political force would pass the threshold, or what impact their vote would have on the final outcome.

Meanwhile, voters in a repeat election would vote in a different situation, where the overall picture may already be known (in this case, 99.8% of votes had been counted). In such conditions, voters’ choices may be influenced not by their original political preference and free _expression_ of will, but by calculations aimed at altering the already known result. This risk is commonly referred to as tactical voting.

The Venice Commission has also acknowledged that partial re-voting is not always an appropriate remedy. In a 2025 urgent report, it states that if violations concern only certain polling stations, the response may in principle be limited to those stations. However, it also notes an important exception: partial re-voting is not appropriate if, due to the possibility of tactical voting, it cannot ensure a fair electoral outcome.

From the perspective of equal suffrage, the issue is also clear. A repeat vote could violate electoral equality, as one group of voters would be placed in significantly different initial conditions compared to others.

In this regard, the position of the Constitutional Court of Armenia is also important, according to which, when assessing the consequences of electoral violations, the rights of voters who cast their ballots lawfully must also be protected. If the will of voters in the main election has already been lawfully expressed, then a subsequent re-vote should not have a secondary or calculated impact on that will.

Therefore, when deciding on a re-vote, the CEC must also consider whether it would ensure the same free and equal environment as on the main election day. Does the known result create a risk of tactical voting? Are the rights of voters who already voted lawfully being undermined? Have sources of illegal or corrupt influence been neutralized?

If the answers to these questions indicate that a re-vote would not ensure a free, equal, and fair outcome, then it should not be held. Not ordering a re-vote in such a case does not mean ignoring the violation; it means not choosing a remedy that could further distort the will of voters.

The CEC must be guided not by a mechanical logic of repeat elections, but by the constitutional principles of free and equal elections, proportionality, and protection of voters’ genuine will, as an independent body overseeing the legality of elections under the Constitution.”

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On June 11, the CEC declared invalid the voting results in polling stations 35/65 and 10/51 from the parliamentary elections held in Armenia on June 7. This decision was based on entries made in the logs by representatives of the “Strong Armenia” party, stating that voting by military personnel had been organized at an unscheduled time in those polling stations. A request to invalidate the results in these polling stations had been submitted by Daniel Ioannisyan, a representative of the “Independent Observer” monitoring organization.

On June 12, the CEC also invalidated the voting results in polling station 12/13. This decision was based on the fact that the ballot paper of the “National Democratic Pole” party had not been available in that polling station.

Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee has proposed legal amendments aimed at strengthening safeguards in the electoral process.

Based on findings from investigations into corruption-related electoral crimes in the run-up to the June 7 elections, the law enforcement body has proposed a potential ban on political forces involved in such schemes from participating in future elections.

The motion to initiate legal amendments was sent by Anti-Corruption Committee Chairman Artur Nahapetyan to Minister of Justice Srbuhi Galyan.

“Emphasizing the importance of ensuring the legality of electoral processes, the Committee has preliminarily summarized the data from proceedings conducted in cases of corruption-related electoral crimes uncovered in the period preceding the 2026 National Assembly elections. The mechanisms through which these crimes were carried out, as well as the circumstances facilitating their commission, have been identified. On this basis, the head of the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia has addressed the Minister of Justice, requesting the initiation of legislative amendments aimed at eliminating the circumstances that facilitate the commission of such crimes. These amendments would minimize the possibility of using the identified criminal schemes in the future, including by banning the participation in electoral processes of political forces involved in such schemes,” the Anti-Corruption Committee said in a press release.

Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan, a senior member of the Civil Contract party, has announced a legislative initiative aimed at increasing criminal penalties for electoral bribery.

Simonyan made the announcement on social media, saying the legislation would be debated at an extraordinary session of parliament.

According to him, the proposed change concerns the penalties prescribed for both giving and receiving electoral bribes. “We are talking about giving and receiving electoral bribery. The punishment for these acts will be made stricter,” Simonyan said.

The Speaker said that the proposed amendments would raise the maximum prison term for accepting an electoral bribe from 7 to 9 years. He also noted that the punishment for offering such bribes would also become stricter, increasing the maximum sentence from 8 to 10 years in prison.

“Of course, this is not the only tool that will be used against those who give and receive electoral bribes. There will be other tools as well, and there will also be political consequences,” the Speaker said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that a deal with Iran has been finalized.

“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all! I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” Trump said on Truth Social.

The White House also commented, saying the agreement marked a historic breakthrough that would end decades of hostility and help promote stability in the region.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country has been mediating talks between the United States and Iran, has said that Washington and Tehran will sign a peace deal on Friday in Switzerland.

“Following intensive talks, we are pleased to announce that the Peace Deal between the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED. Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon. The official signing ceremony will be on Friday, 19 June in Switzerland. We would like to thank the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran for their commitment to finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict. We would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to our brothers in this mediation effort, the great leadership of State of Qatar, for their support in reaching this agreement. I would also especially thank the visionary leadership of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Republic of Türkiye for their immense contributions in this regard. With the agreement now in place, mediators will facilitate a series of meetings this week. These pre-implementation discussions will lay the foundation for the technical talks and the official signing ceremony,” Sharif said on X.

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier announced that a deal with Iran had been finalized.

Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission on 14 June finalised and announced the official results of the parliamentary elections held on 7 June.

The results were presented by CEC Chairman Vahagn Hovakimyan.

According to the final results:

 • Civil Contract Party – 726,819 votes (49.7456%)

 • Strong Armenia Alliance – 340,006 votes (23.2710%)

 • Armenia Alliance – 144,983 votes (9.9231%)

 • Prosperous Armenia Party – 58,287 votes (3.9893%)

 • Wings of Unity Party – 33,537 votes (2.2954%)

 • Meritocratic Party of Armenia – 30,642 votes (2.0972%)

 • Democracy, Law and Discipline Party – 25,758 votes (1.7630%)

 • New Force Reformist Party – 25,551 votes (1.7488%)

 • I Am Against Everyone Democratic Party – 21,181 votes (1.4497%)

 • Republic Party – 15,808 votes (1.0819%)

 • Bright Armenia Party – 7,439 votes (0.5091%)

 • In the Name of the Republic Democracy Protection Alliance – 6,754 votes (0.4623%)

 • Pan-Armenian National Democratic Pole – 5,481 votes (0.3751%)

 • Democratic Consolidation Party – 5,269 votes (0.3606%)

 • Armenian National Congress Party – 3,143 votes (0.2151%)

 • Christian Democratic Party – 2,671 votes (0.1825%)

 • Kochari National Revival and Awakening of the Nation Party – 1,986 votes (0.1359%)

 • Reformists Party – 1,425 votes (0.0975%)

A total of 1,476,769 voters, or 58.9% of eligible voters, participated in the election.

Under the final results, three political forces will enter the National Assembly: Civil Contract Party, which secured a parliamentary majority and will be able to form the government; Strong Armenia Alliance; and Armenia Alliance.

The CEC had invalidated the voting results at three polling stations earlier this week. Prosperous Armenia Party and Strong Armenia Alliance had submitted applications for a recount at two of those three stations. The CEC is currently reviewing those applications.

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan has congratulated United States President Donald Trump on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

The Prime Minister wrote on X:

“Happy Birthday to a great leader and dear friend, Donald Trump! Your strong leadership and bold vision continue to Make America Great Again!

We highly value your role in the historic 8 August White House Peace Summit.

Looking forward to making even more historic deals with your administration.”

Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council Armen Grigoryan and Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev discussed issues related to the peace agenda between Armenia and Azerbaijan during a meeting in Dilijan.

In an exclusive comment, the Office of the Security Council Secretary provided details on how Hajiyev arrived in Armenia.

Responding to a question about the Azerbaijani official’s visit, the office stated:

“Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev and the delegation accompanying him arrived in Armenia through a delimited and demarcated section of the land border, completing all relevant procedures. As previously announced, during the visit a meeting was held with Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan, during which issues related to the peace agenda between Armenia and Azerbaijan were discussed.”

Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission has adopted a decision on the results of the 7 June 2026 parliamentary elections.

At the CEC session, Commission Chairman Vahagn Hovakimyan announced:

“By this decision, the National Assembly has been elected and seats are distributed as follows: Civil Contract Party — 61 seats, Strong Armenia Alliance — 28 seats, and Armenia Alliance — 12 seats.”

Hovakimyan also announced that Civil Contract Party will receive an additional three seats reserved for national minorities, while Strong Armenia Alliance will receive one additional seat.

Accordingly, Civil Contract Party will hold 64 seats in total, Strong Armenia Alliance 29, and Armenia Alliance 12.

Hovakimyan stated that, in accordance with the law, the decision may be appealed to the Constitutional Court. 

He also noted that the decision to invalidate the results at three polling stations had no effect on the overall election outcome, and that no violations occurred that could have affected the results.

Earlier, the CEC had published the final voting results, according to which Civil Contract Party, Strong Armenia Alliance and Armenia Alliance will enter the National Assembly. Prosperous Armenia Party failed to clear the 4% threshold.