Akanates observation mission identifies shortcomings in party  financing process for local government elections in Vagharshapat

ArmInfo.  The "Akanates" (Witness) observation mission has identified shortcomings in the party financing process for the local government elections in Vagharshapat, scheduled for November of this year.

In a report received by ArmInfo, the mission noted that, according to  the latest amendments to Armenia's Electoral Code, banks must submit  data on the account balances, receipts, and expenditures of parties  participating in the elections to the Corruption Prevention  Commission (CPC) every three business days after the registration  deadline for parties participating in the elections and until the  third day after the vote.  The CPC summarizes this data, compiles a  report, and publishes it on its website. At the same time, the  Central Electoral Commission's (CEC) Audit Service summarizes data on  the financial receipts and expenditures of the participating parties'  and blocs' election funds and compiles a consolidated report, which  is posted on the CEC website.

The mission noted that a comparison of these two reports reveals  discrepancies between the amounts transferred from a party's bank  account to the fund and the amounts received. However, such  discrepancies should not exist, since, according to recent amendments  to the Electoral Code, transfers to the election fund can only be  made from a party's bank account. "Thus, as of October 27, according  to the Central Election Commission's report, 10 million drams were  transferred from the ruling Civil Contract party's account to the  election fund, while the CEC report on the fund does not indicate any  receipts or expenses.

This case is even more alarming, as we recorded numerous campaign  events by the Civil Contract party during the campaign, which began  on October 22, and the Electoral Code requires that election campaign  expenses be financed exclusively from the election fund," Akanates  stated.

It is also noted that as of October 22, the CEC report on the  Respublika party's bank account indicated 0 drams in receipts, 67,705  drams in expenses, and a balance of approximately 4 million drams.  Meanwhile, the CEC report on bank accounts indicates a receipt of 1  million drams into the election fund. The CEC report was later  updated to include a write-off of 1 million drams from the party's  account.

"As of October 27, the CEC report on the bank accounts of the Rodina  party did not record any write-offs from the party's account, while  the CEC reports on bank accounts indicate the receipt of 1 million  drams into the election fund. As of October 22 and 27, there is no  data on the financial flows of the Heritage party in the bank  statements, while the CEC report on bank accounts indicates a receipt  into the election fund. As of October 27, 16,320,000 drams were  received into the election fund of the Akhtanak (Victory) bloc,  according to the CEC report on bank accounts. The alliance includes  the ARF and Forward parties, therefore, only contributions to the  alliance's election fund can be made from the accounts of these  parties.  However, in the CEC reports of October 22 and 27, the total  amount of funds, "The total amount of funds received from the ARF and  Forward parties amounted to only 13 million drams," the observation  mission stated.

The mission also noted problems in the operations of the Central  Election Commission of Armenia, specifically deviations from the  CEC's report publication schedule. Akanates also identified as  problematic the fact that the CEC's Electoral Commission submits a  single report, with data updated every three days (previous data is  not saved), making it difficult to compare these reports over time.

"These two formats significantly complicate the oversight functions  of the media and observation missions in terms of verifying the  consistency and accuracy of the data. The uncoordinated work of these  two structures responsible for ensuring the transparency of political  financing makes it impossible to effectively monitor the financial  flows used in elections. We expect both structures to clarify the  data, as well as proper cooperation between the two bodies to avoid  further inaccuracies and fully comply with transparency  requirements," the observation mission concluded. As a reminder,  elections to the Council of Elders of the enlarged Vagharshapat  community will be held on November 16, 2025. Nine political forces  submitted documents to the Central Election Commission of Armenia to  participate in the elections, and seven political forces were  ultimately registered.