MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/. The parliamentary elections held in Armenia on June 7 were inherently unfair, as the authorities exerted pressure on the opposition, the head of the Center for International Interaction and Cooperation, Areg Agasaryan, Deputy Chairman of the Public Council under Rossotrudnichestvo (Federal Agency for CIS Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation - TASS), has stated.
"Undoubtedly, the elections were inherently unfair due to the obstacles created by the authorities. Unprecedented pressure was exerted on the opposition. Continuous arrests of Samvel Karapetyan and his associates, [former] mayor of Gyumri - Vardan Ghukasyan, archbishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church, arrests in all opposition parties, and mass criminal cases. For example, against Gagik Tsarukyan. On the eve of the elections, all this pursued one goal - to paralyze campaigning work," he said at a round table organized by the Expert Institute for Social Studies "Parliamentary Elections in Armenia: Has the Republic Lost the Battle for the Future," dedicated to discussing the results of the elections to the National Assembly of Armenia and possible scenarios for the development of Russian-Armenian relations.
Agasaryan emphasized that those who were not arrested were intimidated: "Students were threatened with expulsion from institutes, [and] entrepreneurs with losing their businesses." As the expert noted, during the voting and vote counting, "hundreds, if not more, violations were identified in practically all regions of Armenia."
According to preliminary updated data from the Central Election Commission of Armenia, three political forces are entering the country's parliament based on the election results. Civil Contract led by Nikol Pashinyan won 49.825% of the votes, the Strong Armenia alliance of businessman Samvel Karapetyan received 23.281%, and the Armenia Alliance of former President Robert Kocharyan gained 9.934%. The Prosperous Armenia party of businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, according to corrected data, received 3.996% of the votes and does not enter parliament, where the threshold for parties is 4%. Tsarukyan's party has already stated that they have submitted a request to the CEC for a recount of votes at a number of precincts.
Voter turnout was 58.97%. Earlier, local observers and the opposition signaled unprecedented violations during the voting. Reports emerged of the organization of so-called electoral carousels, the removal of ballots, open voting, and collective voting by military personnel. The elections were accompanied by detentions of representatives of opposition forces both during the election campaign and during the days of silence and voting.