Legal experts cry foul over proposed election law changes in Armenia

ArmInfo. The convening of an extraordinary session of the Armenian Parliament on April 7 to discuss draft amendments to the Electoral Code is specifically  targeting "Strong Armenia" party chairman Samvel Karapetyan. Gohar  Meloyan, a legal expert and member of the party, made this statement  during a press conference of the party.

Meloyan emphasized that they are here first and foremost to inform  the public of what is happening and remind them that they have the  right to demand and not allow interference in the electoral process.  In this regard, she called on the people of Armenia to participate in  the parliamentary elections on June 7, 2026, to prevent the ruling  "Civil Contract" party from gaining an unfair advantage.

Meloyan reported that, given the current events, including the  imposition of an unlawful preventive measure against Karapetyan, they  had  brought the matter to the attention of  international  organizations.  They had recorded that the principle of equality for  Samvel Karapetyan's party had been violated, given that the leader of  the political party is currently under restrictions (house arrest -  ed.). Speaking about the current situation, she referenced the Venice  Commission's "Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters," as well as  international norms, domestic constitutional and legal norms, and the  constitutional law principles outlined in the Electoral Code.

 "The most important of these principles is the principle of  equality, meaning that the equality of all participating political  forces must be guaranteed in electoral processes. But what the  authorities are doing is presenting draft amendments to the Electoral  Code of Armenia literally within a day. In addition to introducing  several technical changes, they want to ban the use of personal names  by blocs. This change is directly aimed at Samvel Karapetyan's  political force," Meloyan emphasized. Moreover, as the legal expert  noted, before the ruling party's draft was published, she had  submitted an application to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of  Armenia,  to open an electronic account and obtain a user account for  the official page as the responsible person. "That is, in essence, we  have already initiated legal proceedings with the CEC. Given all  this, it becomes obvious that the current government, in an attempt  to retain power, is resorting to illegal methods and is attempting to  jeopardize a political force that currently enjoys public support,"  the party member asserts. Meloyan also reminded that, in a state  governed by the rule of law, such changes, according to international  norms, must first be implemented through public hearings involving  professional circles. She also stated that, regardless of who  Armenian citizens intend to vote for, this change directly interferes  with their electoral rights. "However, in spite of everything, we  will continue our struggle, as its aim to reinstate a reality in  which human rights are not violated for political expediency, and the  law prevails over all else," Meloyan stated.

In turn, lawyer Aram Vardevanyan  noted that the decision is a  manifestation of the fear felt by the country's authorities against  the backdrop of polls showing Samvel Karapetyan in the lead. "Ten  months ago, Armenian society already witnessed an obvious  manifestation of political persecution against Samvel Karapetyan for  his phrase, 'We will participate in the defense of the Armenian  Church in our own way,' which was also a manifestation of their fear.  And what is happening today-the ban on the use of Samvel Karapetyan's  name in the bloc's name-is already a manifestation of great fear.  Today's actions are unprecedented," the lawyer noted.

Vardevanyan also noted that if the draft is adopted, its provisions  will enter into force immediately after its publication. He also  noted that such urgency is only relevant during military situations,  emergency situations, and disasters. Regarding their intended  actions, the lawyer noted that they need to wait for a decision to be  made, after which they will formulate their next steps based on the  situation.

Recall, on March 31, it was announced that the "Strong Armenia" party  would participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections as part of  the "Strong Armenia with Samvel Karapetyan" bloc. Literally the  following day, the ruling party convened an extraordinary session on  April 7 to discuss amendments to the Electoral Code.  According to  the amendments, on the one hand, monitoring of the voting process on  election day is prohibited, and on the other, the use of first and  last names in the names of parties and blocs is prohibited.  The  authorities' initiative has sparked confusion and indignation among  the parliamentary opposition. They pointed out that there is  international practice, including the Venice Commission's  recommendation to Armenia, according to which the rules of the game  are not changed at least one year before the elections.