"Prosperous Armenia", "New Power", and "Armenia" File Petition with Constitutional Court Demanding Annulment of Election Results

ArmInfo. Gagik Tsarukyan's "Prosperous Armenia" Party (PAP), former Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan's "New Power" Party, and second President Robert Kocharyan's "Armenia" alliance have filed a petition with the Constitutional Court of Armenia demanding that the results of the country's June 7 parliamentary elections be declared invalid.

Aram Orbelyan, the lawyer representing PAP, spoke to journalists in front of the court building, stating that what happened to the party after the annulment of votes at three polling stations is unprecedented. "We expect a ruling confirming that the party secured the necessary 4% of votes, and even more. In our petition, we demanded that the results of the parliamentary elections be declared invalid. If the results are annulled, we demand a repeat vote across the entire territory of Armenia, in compliance with the principle of the rule of law," the lawyer noted.

According to Orbelyan, as an alternative to this decision, they expect the adoption of a different mandate distribution procedure that would allow PAP to enter parliament. At the same time, the lawyer assured that their goal is not merely entering parliament, but restoring justice. "When violations occur that obstruct the execution of the people's will—and we are talking about exactly such a case—the right decision is to hold a repeat vote. However, we are not talking about a mechanical action, but about ensuring the rule of law and corresponding principles. Therefore, we expect the court not only to make a specific decision, but also to record the violations. Only this will allow us to prevent similar situations in the future. Of course, we cannot be certain of anything. But we must do everything possible," the lawyer emphasized.

In turn, lawyer Hovhannes Khudoyan, representing the "Armenia" alliance, noted that in their petition, they presented circumstances proving that the elections were not fair and transparent, and therefore they demand that the results be declared invalid. "We did not submit any other demand, as we believe that the violations mentioned in our petition were so extensive and systemic that they do not imply any other solution. In it, we drew attention to instances of campaigning by law enforcement agencies, which influenced the entire election process. For example, they published statements containing the names of political forces and released fragments of wiretaps that held no legal significance. In addition, we pointed out financial accountability issues regarding the "Civil Contract" party, as well as the implementation of a number of events at the expense of the state budget. Furthermore, we pointed out the mismatch between the number of voters and the signatures they left at the polling stations," Khudoyan said.

A corresponding petition to declare the election results invalid was also filed by the "New Power" party of former Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan. The petition on behalf of the political force was submitted by party representative Hakob Karapetyan, who pointed out numerous violations during the elections that cast doubt on the legitimacy of the emerging government. Earlier today, petitions were also filed by Samvel Karapetyan's "Strong Armenia" alliance and Arman Tatoyan's "Wings of Unity" party. All of them demand that the Constitutional Court declare the results of the parliamentary elections invalid.