Commission members absent at 48 polling stations in Armenia at  opening- CEC head

ArmInfo.  Polling stations opened at 8:00 AM. As of that time members of election commissions were absent at 50 polling stations, a stated by Vahagn Hovakimyan,  Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), during  a press  conference on June 7. However, in only three instances were members  of the leadership team absent—two chairpersons and one secretary.

"Nevertheless, our Electoral Code allows the process to continue even  in the absence of any commission member," Hovakimyan noted, adding  that precinct electoral commission chairs appoint new members if  necessary.  According to the head of the CEC, the voting process is  proceeding as normal, and any technical issues that arise are being  promptly resolved.

It is worth noting that, according to data from the Migration Service  of the Armenian Ministry of Internal Affairs, just under 2.5 million  citizens are eligible to vote. Eighteen political forces are  participating in the elections—two alliances and 16 parties.

Among the campaign frontrunners are the "Civil Contract" party of the  incumbent Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan; the "Strong  Armenia" alliance of businessman Samvel Karapetyan; the "Armenia"  alliance of the second president, Robert Kocharyan; and the  "Prosperous Armenia" party of businessman Gagik Tsarukyan.

At the same time, since early morning, observers and media  representatives have been reporting numerous violations recorded  during the organization of the voting process.