Strong Armenia rep points out contradictions in RA CEC`s, decisions  regarding Narek Karapetyan`s case

ArmInfo.  Gohar Meloyan, a member of the Strong Armenia party board and legal expert, pointed out  contradictions in the Central Election Commission's (CEC) decisions  regarding the case of Narek Karapetyan, a member of the Strong  Armenia bloc's political council.

In a video message published on her Facebook page, she recalled that  the CEC held two sessions on July 21 - a regular session and an  extraordinary session. As the legal expert noted, two issues were on  the agenda at the regular meeting: invalidating the registration of  candidates for deputy who withdrew or relinquished their mandates  following the snap parliamentary elections on June 7, 2026, as well  as registering deputies and awarding them their mandates. That is, as  Meloyan explained, from that moment on, candidates previously on the  lists are now registered.

"Then, at the extraordinary meeting, the petition submitted by the  Prosecutor General's Office was discussed. And here, I would like to  point out which deputy the Prosecutor General's Office petitioned for  criminal prosecution and imprisonment-Narek Karapetyan. Moreover, a  similar petition against Karapetyan had been submitted previously.  Then, the Central Election Commission returned the petition, noting  that, as of July 4, the Commission no longer has the authority to  make decisions on criminal prosecution and imprisonment for  individuals who are not candidates for deputy," the legal expert  recalled. 

As Meloyan noted, on July 8, the Central Election Commission of  Armenia announced that, as of July 4, it no longer has the authority  to approve criminal prosecution or imprisonment of individuals who do  not have candidate status. On July 21, the Commission announced that  Narek Karapetyan was now an MP. On July 21, following these  statements, it announced that it was considering the issue of  approving criminal prosecution or imprisonment against Narek  Karapetyan, an MP it had registered. "But what did Narek Karapetyan  do at the same time? A member of the bloc's political council  announced the purchase of a combine harvester for residents of the  Stepanavan community," the Strong Armenia party member recalled.   Meloyan also announced that the CEC session on July 22 would resume  at 1:00 PM.

As a reminder, on July 21, lawyer and representative of the Strong  Armenia bloc, Aram Vardevanyan, reported that the Prosecutor  General's Office of Armenia had submitted a petition to the CEC to  strip Narek Karapetyan of his immunity. According to Vardevanyan,  they intended to file a motion for time to review the case, but  Karapetyan opposed the proposal. The lawyer also pointed out that  members of parliament enjoy additional immunity. He added that  parliament is there to override this immunity.