Observers reported violations at polling stations in Armenia.
Violations of voting secrecy and ballot filling by relatives of voters have been recorded at polling stations in Armenia.
As "Caucasian Knot" reported, voting began today in Armenia in the parliamentary elections. 2005 polling stations opened to voters at 8:00 a.m. local time (7:00 a.m. Moscow time).
The elections will effectively be a referendum on the future of the current government and Armenia's foreign policy, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "2026 Elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia".
Observers from the public movement "Ayakve" recorded a violation of voting secrecy at polling station #3/13, "Ayakve" reports on its Telegram channel.
Another violation was recorded at polling station #23/42. The voting process was being videotaped there.
A violation was also recorded at polling station #15/21: a relative of the voter, not the voter himself, voted there, according to the movement's publication.
Polling station #23/42, where the voting was videotaped, is located in Vanadzor, while polling station #3/13 is in Yerevan's Kanaker-Zeytun district, News.am writes.
The most pro-Russian participants in the elections are businessman Samvel Karapetyan's "Strong Armenia" bloc, former President Robert Kocharyan's "Armenia" bloc, and oligarch Gagik Tsarukyan's "Prosperous Armenia" party. According to analysts, the parties of Samvel Karapetyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and Robert Kocharyan will be key competitors in the elections.
Amid preparations for the elections, Armenian authorities have increased pressure on opposition supporters. On June 4, the Investigative Committee reported the criminal prosecution of 37 people involved in the case of the previously arrested Alik Aleksanyan. Aleksanyan is suspected of money laundering and bribery of Armenian citizens for the political interests of businessman Samvel Karapetyan.
In the run-up to the elections, security forces conducted searches in the offices of the Strong Armenia and Prosperous Armenia parties and detained at least 15 people. Opposition representatives considered this pressure and claimed abuse of administrative resources by the authorities.
At the same time, Russia's recent political steps, which have increased political and economic pressure on Armenia, have strengthened the beliefs of both pro-Russian and pro-Western voters.