CEC Chair: Armenian citizens living abroad for more than 10 years are  not included in the electoral list for the parliamentary elections

ArmInfo. Armenian citizens who have lived abroad for 10 years or more will not be included in the electoral lists for the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7 of this year, as announced by Vahagn Hovakimyan, Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Armenia, at a press conference in Yerevan.

He was  presenting the provisions of the  Electoral Code that will be applied in the upcoming parliamentary  elections on June 7, 2026.  Hovakimyan noted that this regulation has  affected the number of eligible voters, resulting in a decrease. 

As an example, he cited data showing that since this change was  introduced, the number of voters has decreased by approximately  200,000, compared to 2021 and 2022. "This regulation is filtering our  voter list year after year," Hovakimyan emphasized.  He also  clarified that voting rights can be restored by renewing an identity  document. He also noted that individuals living abroad,  don't need  to return Armenia to do so. "That is, those whose passports have  expired can restore their voting rights through the consulate without  having to travel to Armenia," the CEC chairman concluded.

Recall, legislative changes adopted before the 2007 parliamentary  elections deprived all Armenian citizens living abroad of the right  to vote. According to the current Electoral Code of Armenia, voting  is only possible at polling stations located within the country.  It  should be added that, according to estimates by the Migration and  Citizenship Service at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia as  of February 11, 2,489,031 citizens are eligible to vote in the  upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7, 2026.