"Strong Armenia" outlines electoral  violations  by ruling party 

ArmInfo.  Gohar Meloyan, legal expert and member of the "Strong Armenia" bloc, has presented violations committed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's ruling  "Civil Contract" party during the June 7 parliamentary election  campaign.

On May 29, during a press conference in Yerevan, Meloyan stated that  they had received reports that citizens were being urged and forced  to remove their ballots from the party they voted for—in this case,  Civil Contract. Furthermore, the member of the political force noted,  people are being forced to remove their Strong Armenia ballots as  proof that they did not vote for that political party. In this  regard, Meloyan reminded that such actions are prohibited and may  have consequences, as they constitute a violation of the law. 

"We have also been informed that citizens, particularly those  residing in the regions, are being terrorized and intimidated. They  are being told that hidden cameras will be installed inside the  voting booths to monitor exactly who an individual votes for. I want  to assure everyone that our representatives will be present at all  polling stations. Consequently, I guarantee that there will be no  unauthorized cameras inside the voting booths or the polling stations  themselves, aside from the official ones. This means no one can  record which political force you vote for. Therefore, go to the polls  and exercise your right," the bloc member stated.

Meloyan also mentioned that violations can be both technical and  substantive. Regarding technical violations, she reported that they  had documented instances of ruling party supporters tearing down  campaign posters belonging to the "Strong Armenia" bloc. As for  substantive violations, the legal expert explained that these include  infractions related to the abuse of administrative resources. In this  regard, she revealed that their investigation into the voter  registries uncovered 689 addresses where more than 100 people are  officially registered.

In this regard, she reported that they retrieved 689 addresses from  the lists, each with more than 100 registered people. "For instance,  we found an address with 3,030 registered people," the member of the  "Strong Armenia" bloc noted.

In connection with the recorded violations, Meloyan reported, they  have already contacted the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of  Armenia and the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) for clarification  and and to ensure that these infractions are officially logged. "The  number of violations recorded even before the elections indicates  that the current government cannot be re-elected without interfering  in the electoral process. That is, they understand perfectly well  that they cannot be re-elected without abusing administrative  resources. Therefore, our initial goal is to prevent these violations  whenever possible," Meloyan stated. In this regard, she presented a  portal called "Your Voice," which was created to enable Armenian  citizens to report such incidents, including on a confidential basis.  Additionally, Meloyan noted that the platform provides essential  information regarding the elections and the voting procedure. 

"During previous electoral cycles, there were instances where stray  ink marks from stamps were discovered on the ballot papers of  opposition forces. At that time, many citizens approached the CEC,  which subsequently stated that this factor would be taken into  account and such ballots would not be deemed invalid. Therefore, I  urge Armenian citizens not to remain silent during the upcoming  elections and to report such instances immediately. It is completely  irrelevant which political force's ballot is affected. Our goal is to  flag any and all issues," the bloc member emphasized.

She also demonstrated that the web page features a "Report a  Violation" button.  "By clicking this button, you can choose exactly  how you wish to report an infraction. That is, you can either provide  your personal details or submit the report anonymously. Furthermore,  you can report violations by calling our hotline at 055-522552,"  Meloyan concluded.