Armenia's main opposition party to seek annulment of election results
Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- Armenia Strong, the main opposition party, will ask the Central Electoral Commission to annul the results of the recent parliamentary elections.
- The party claims the ruling Civil Contract party, which won nearly 50% of the vote, is weak and committed electoral violations.
- Another opposition bloc, Armenia, also plans to challenge the election results, while authorities are reviewing votes in 86 polling stations.
Armenia Strong, the leading opposition party, is preparing to formally request the annulment of the recent parliamentary election results, citing alleged irregularities. Narek Karapetian, a member of the party's political council and nephew of its leader, announced that they will petition the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) to nullify the votes for the ruling Civil Contract party. If the CEC does not respond promptly, Armenia Strong intends to escalate the matter to the Constitutional Court.
Karapetian characterized the ruling Civil Contract party, which secured 49.82% of the vote, as politically "weak." He asserted that the party has lost its constitutional majority in parliament and has allegedly committed infractions both before and during the election process. This move follows a similar announcement from the opposition bloc Armenia, which also plans to contest the election outcomes.
Tomorrow we will go to the Central Electoral Commission to annul the election results and reconsider the votes of the (winning) Civil Contract party.
Armenian electoral authorities have acknowledged the challenges and announced a review of votes cast in 86 polling stations. This review was prompted by requests from several participating parties, including Armenia Prosperous, which narrowly missed entering the National Assembly by fewer than a hundred votes. However, the CEC previously stated that vote counts had increased by over a thousand for the ruling party after the recount began.
Preliminary official results show Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's party winning 49.82% of the vote, enabling them to form a government independently. The main opposition, Armenia Strong, garnered 23.28%, while the Armenia bloc, led by former President Robert Kocharian, received 9.94%. Pashinian has previously accused government detractors of fraud and vowed that those involved in vote-buying will face justice.
the ruling party... is a weak political force, which has lost its constitutional majority in Parliament and has allegedly committed infractions before the elections and during their development.
Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.