Pashinyan called for reporting cases of pressure on election participants to the local self-government bodies – but is everything so simple

ArmInfo. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called on all candidates and voters participating in local government elections who claim they have been subjected to illegal pressure to report such cases to him personally.

He made this appeal on his social media pages, leaving his email address. "I urge you to contact me directly via email: [email protected]. "I publicly declare: if the reported facts are confirmed, any official involved in such actions will be held publicly accountable," Pashinyan wrote.

Later, in a published video address, the Armenian prime minister explained that he decided to make this statement after seeing relevant reports online. He said he had already checked his email and received three messages on this topic. "One of them came from an MP from the Strong Armenia faction, who sent a link to a public speech that mentioned similar cases. I have instructed the oversight body to investigate information about possible politically motivated dismissals. The second message contained a video recording of a child giving a campaign speech. I do not wish to comment on this; the relevant materials have been sent to the Anti-Corruption Committee." "In the third letter, one citizen wrote that he supports my policies, but believes that the candidate nominated for the community leader position is unsuitable," the Armenian Prime Minister said.

Overall, according to Pashinyan, he has committed to protecting the rights of citizens facing such pressure. However, the Armenian Prime Minister emphasized that he will not be able to take the necessary measures if he does not have information about such cases, and if the citizens themselves do not respond to his call. "I am also concerned by the statements being made today about an atmosphere of fear in the country. Citizens must consistently defend their rights, and I intend to continue to protect them. All reports will be investigated, and no official will be punished without evidence of guilt," Pashinyan assured.

An MP from the Strong Armenia faction responded to Pashinyan's statements. Andranik Gevorgyan, who wrote on his Facebook page about people who were subjected to similar pressure during the elections to the National Assembly of Armenia and subsequently lost their jobs, shared a photo of Serine Manukyan, a teacher at Amalia Karapetyan Kindergarten No. 5 in Stepanavan. "Manukyan was fired after she took a photo with Narek Karapetyan, head of the Strong Armenia faction. She was told, 'Whoever you took a photo with, let them find you a job.' And these are photos of Manushak Lalazaryan and Olga Sahakyan, who worked as nurses at a Stepanavan clinic. Both women lost their jobs or were subjected to pressure because of their political views," the opposition member said.

The MP emphasized that the cases cited are just a few examples. According to him, not only supporters of "Strong Armenia" were subjected to pressure, but also people sharing similar political views. Furthermore, as Gevorgyan noted, even those who were simply from Tashir (the city where Samvel Karapetyan was born - ed.) were losing their jobs.

Daniel Ioannisyan, head of the Union of Informed Citizens, also responded to Pashinyan's call, citing the situation in the Armavir region surrounding a representative of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) as an example of pressure exerted on the opposition by representatives of the ruling party. "According to the signal we received, the governor of the Armavir region, 'persuading'... "I strongly advised ARF representative Razmik Ayvazyan not to run for mayor of Armavir, urging him to think about his son, who was recently drafted into the army," Ioannisyan wrote.

As the head of the Union noted, the involvement of several school principals in the ruling party's election campaign has still not been investigated, despite the Armenian Prime Minister's assurances that all guilty parties will be held accountable. "Since the Prime Minister has also assumed the role of prosecutor, I would like to remind you that he also promised to investigate and, if confirmed, fire the principals of several schools who brought staff and students to a Civil Contract party rally in Aparan during the parliamentary election campaign. Now try to guess three times how many of these principals were fired? And this despite the fact that an internal investigation confirmed the fact of campaigning during school hours. Why did these principals continue to hold their positions? "Probably because they received instructions from the mayor of Aparan. And the mayor of Aparan is a valuable 'shuffler' (someone who exerts informal influence on voters) for the Civil Contract party, who will soon become their candidate in Aparan," the head of the Union noted.

In connection with the above, Ioannisyan expressed his conviction that the absence of opposition forces in many communities is the result of pressure on candidates. "Otherwise, it is impossible to explain the sole participation of the Civil Contract party in elections in many communities on an uncontested basis, North Korea-style," the head of the Union of Informed Citizens concluded.

As a reminder, local government elections will be held in 46 communities across Armenia in the fall of 2026.