Arrests and scandals overshadow election in Armenia

General election

Arrests and scandals overshadow election in Armenia

The parliamentary elections in Armenia are not just about a new government, but also about the country’s course between East and West. The election campaign is fierce, there are arrests during the vote.

Arrests, bomb threats and mutual accusations overshadowed the parliamentary election in the South Caucasus republic of Armenia, which was accompanied by massive tensions with Russia. According to the head of the pro-Russian opposition party Strong Armenia, Samvel Karapetyan, more than 100 of his supporters have been arrested in the past two days. “At this very moment, further arrests of our supporters are underway,” said the billionaire as he cast his vote. Another pro-Russian opposition party also complained about arrests.

Karapetyan, who also has a Russian passport, has been under house arrest for months. Authorities accuse him of an attempted coup in connection with unrest earlier this year.

The Interior Ministry justified the arrests around election day with allegations of attempted vote buying. In Gyumri, the country’s second-largest city, officials also searched the office of Strong Armenia, according to media reports. Three members of a local election commission were also arrested that night.

The police also had to respond to several bomb scares. It is said that the anonymous threats about explosives turned out to be false. It cannot be ruled out that the vote will have to be repeated because of the many violations, said the head of the small Meritocracy party, Gurgen Simonjan, on television.

The polling stations in the country have been open since 8 a.m. local time (6 a.m. CEST). According to the observations of a reporter from the German Press Agency, participation is lively. According to the Central Election Commission, almost 49 percent of voters had voted by 5 p.m. local time (3 p.m. CEST). This indicates a higher voter turnout than last time – 2021. At that time it ended up being just over 49 percent.

The high level of voter activity is also due to the importance of the ballot, which is seen by the government and opposition as a directional choice. Under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who wants to be confirmed in office for the third time, Armenia is moving closer to the West and striving to join the EU.

After the country’s defeat in the conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region against arch-enemy Azerbaijan in 2023, Pashinyan has only strengthened this course. At that time, around 100,000 ethnic Armenians had to flee the conflict region. This triggered a domestic political crisis, but also shook the faith of many people in the country in Russia, the long-standing protective power. The Russian leadership, which was at war in Ukraine at the time, remained passive in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In order to secure a stable peace with Azerbaijan, Pashinyan recently used the mediation services of Europeans and the US government. While the opposition accused him of treason because of the defeat in the war and subsequent negotiations, the head of government emphasized the importance of peace in the region.