Lawyer: Armenian authorities are moving toward rigging the country`s  parliamentary elections

ArmInfo. Armenian authorities are moving toward rigging the country's parliamentary elections, as stated by lawyer Hovhannes Khudoyan at a press conference in Yerevan on June 4.

According to him, this is evidenced by the numerous violations and  threats that have been ignored by Armenian law enforcement agencies,  as well as the abuse of administrative resources throughout the  entire campaign period. In this regard, Khudoyan recalled Armenian  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's remark to the people of Artsakh:  "Why didn't you die?" Moreover, as the lawyer noted, this remark was  addressed to a person who does not even share the positions of many  opposition forces – Artur Osipyan, the head of the Artsakh  Revolutionary Party.  This means, as Khudoyan pointed out, that  threats, insulting remarks, and hooliganistic behavior by the Prime  Minister are left completely unaddressed by the law enforcement  system, whereas others are detained for far less offensive or  threatening statements.

 "Based on this issue alone, one can confidently assert that the  Armenian authorities he Armenian authorities are on a path toward  falsifying the 2026 elections, while the Investigative Committee and  the Anti-Corruption Committee have evidently been involved in  political campaigning for about two months now," the lawyer stated.   He drew particular attention to the activities of the Anti-Corruption  Committee over the past two months.  According to him, an analysis of  the press releases issued by the Committee makes it clear that  political propaganda is being conducted under the guise of public  accountability. Khudoyan acknowledged that investigative bodies do  have a right to public accountability and can inform the public about  their work in solving crimes.

"However, according to our research, in addition to reporting on  standard cases, they also engage in political propaganda. For  instance, the audio and video materials they distribute specify  exactly which political force is involved, even when there is  absolutely no necessity to do so," the lawyer pointed out.

In this regard, he also recalled the country's Anti-Corruption  Committee's recent reports related to the Strong Armenia party: in  one case, if bribery is involved, the party's name is included in the  headline; in another, when a representative of the same party is  beaten, the report says nothing about who did it.  Speaking about  wiretaps, Khudoyan noted that released excerpts include insulting  remarks that have nothing to do with the alleged crime. In other  words, as the lawyer observed, the editing is done in such a way that  all these irrelevant phrases are kept in the materials and then  widely disseminated. "Moreover, these very recordings published by  the Anti-Corruption Committee are then actively picked up and  subsequently used precisely by government officials to discredit  opposition forces. All of this inevitably impacts the election  results, as it is capable of shifting people's positions on the eve  of the vote," Khudoyan noted, adding that such incidents are  occurring more frequently as the elections draw closer.

In turn, Artsvik Minasyan, secretary of the opposition "Armenia"  parliamentary faction, stated that the searches being conducted in  practically all opposition campaign headquarters indicate that the  authorities are losing their grip on reality. He expressed conviction  that this is an attempt to create a distorted perception of current  events among the Armenian public, as well as to provide international  organizations with grounds to claim that it is the opposition  committing election violations in Armenia.  "Meanwhile, the biggest  violation is the current government itself. The Armenian Prime  Minister crossed all acceptable lines a long time ago. The Armenian  authorities are trying by all possible means to create the impression  that they hold a public majority. In addition, they are trying to  convince the Armenian people that the election results are  predetermined," Minasyan said.

However, according to the opposition politician, everything still  depends on the citizens of Armenia.  Therefore, he urged everyone to  participate in the parliamentary elections.  "The authorities are  eager to project strength, and for the sake of this, they have  already crossed all boundaries. For instance, on June 3, the  Anti-Corruption Committee brought in four women for questioning, who  were denied access to lawyers for about seven hours. Moreover, they  were told that they would receive more lenient treatment if they  disclosed everything they could," Minasyan reported, without  specifying the exact case.

At the same time, according to the faction secretary, the ultimate  response to any attempt to rig the elections will be high voter  turnout.  "That is to say, the most effective and genuine response to  this lawlessness is participating in the elections.  And the final  assessment of what is happening, in my view, will be delivered once  the electoral processes are concluded," Minasyan said.