CEC Neutralizes PAP: Three Political Forces to Enter Armenian Parliament Following Election Vote

ArmInfo. Nikol Pashinyan’s ruling Civil Contract party has secured 64 seats in the Armenian parliament, while two opposition forces have obtained a combined total of 41 seats. This was revealed in a statement by the head of the Central Electoral Commission, Vahagn Hovakimyan, who presented the final voting results of the parliamentary elections held in the country on June 7.

Hovakimyan reported that according to the final voting results, voter turnout stood at 58.9%, representing 1,476,769 citizens. The political forces entering the Armenian parliament are the Civil Contract party with 49.7456% of the vote, Samvel Karapetyan’s "Strong Armenia" alliance with 23.2710%, and the "Armenia" alliance led by the second president, Robert Kocharyan, with 9.9231%. Gagik Tsarukyan’s "Prosperous Armenia" Party (PAP) failed to cross the 4% parliamentary threshold following a vote recount, receiving only 3.9893%. This outcome occurred after the CEC of Armenia annulled the voting results at three polling stations where Tsarukyan’s party had received over 200 votes. Consequently, the party fell short by about 160 votes required to enter parliament due to these CEC measures. Nevertheless, during the session, Hovakimyan assured that the annulment of results at these polling stations did not affect the final outcome of the elections and refused to organize a revote at the specified locations.

Thus, according to Hovakimyan, the mandates were distributed as follows: Pashinyan's party secured 64 seats, achieving a 3/5 constitutional majority in parliament. Karapetyan’s alliance received 29 seats, and Kocharyan’s alliance obtained 12 seats. Following the Armenian CEC’s statement, 6 opposition forces issued a joint statement calling the elections illegitimate.

"The parliamentary elections in the Republic of Armenia were conducted under conditions that fundamentally call into question the free, fair, and competitive nature of the electoral process. We, the undersigned political forces, note that throughout the entire electoral process, including the pre-election period and voting day, systematic and organized violations took place. These had a significant impact on the free expression of voters' will, the ensuring of equal political competition, and public trust in electoral institutions, while the current administration permitted blatant manifestations of violations of electoral law principles," the statement reads. In this context, the document highlights the authorities' widespread use of administrative resources and pressure, political persecution and arrests of opponents, targeted obstruction of opposition headquarters' activities, and the abuse of information and propaganda media.

"The presented official election data do not reflect the real will of the people and the accurate results of the elections. The results recorded under such conditions cannot serve as a basis for forming a legitimate government that enjoys the trust of the majority of the people. Full responsibility for any further escalation of the situation in the country rests solely with Nikol Pashinyan and his administration. We will continue to act exclusively within the framework of the Constitution, laws, and democratic principles, protecting citizens' right to freedom of expression and the fundamental values of statehood and democracy of the Republic of Armenia. In our future decisions and actions, we will proceed exclusively from these realities," the political forces declared.

The statement was signed by the "Strong Armenia" and "Armenia" alliances, as well as the "Prosperous Armenia," "Bright Armenia," "Armenian National Congress," and "National Democratic Pole" parties.