Independent observers found violations at 44% of polling stations visited in Armenia.

Of the 1,830 polling stations (92% of the total) visited by the Independent Observer Mission, violations were recorded at 44%. Most of the violations were attributed to representatives of the Strong Armenia bloc and the ruling party.

As reported by Caucasian Knot, observers reported video surveillance at polling stations, attempts to influence the vote during voting, and deceased individuals on the voter lists. Furthermore, difficulties were created in allowing unregistered voters to participate in the vote. Before the polling stations closed, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported 29 violations, including attempts at repeat voting, and the Ombudsman received 59 complaints.

The elections will effectively become 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".

Daniel Ioannisyan, a member of the Independent Observer coalition, presented a report according to which, as a result of monitoring at approximately 800 polling stations, violations of various kinds were recorded, which constitutes about 44% of the polling stations observed, News.am reports.

Ioannisyan clarified that a significant Some of the violations recorded were related to the organization of the electoral process and ensuring the secrecy of the vote.

Specifically, problems related to ensuring the secrecy of the vote were recorded at 6% of polling stations. Another 6% of violations were recorded that, according to observers, could have posed risks to the secrecy of the vote.

According to the observation mission, tense situations or disputes that disrupted the normal working atmosphere were recorded at 3% of polling stations. Another 3% of cases involved instances of campaigning, which are considered problematic in light of the restrictions established by electoral legislation.

Speaking about instances of campaigning, Daniel Ioannisyan noted that they primarily consisted of the use of T-shirts, hats, and buttons bearing the symbols of political parties or campaign content.

"The instances of campaigning primarily consisted of T-shirts, hats, and buttons containing campaign content. These instances were primarily recorded early in the day and have already been resolved," Ioannisyan said.

He also provided data on the perpetrators of the recorded violations in those cases where observers were able to identify those responsible.

According to the statistics presented, the precinct election commission was responsible in approximately 7.5% of cases. In approximately 1% of cases, violations were attributed to police officers.

At the same time, in approximately 7.8% of recorded cases, the perpetrators were trusted representatives of political parties, and in approximately 9.5%, voters.

Daniel Ioannisyan also presented statistics on political parties in those cases where it was possible to determine the party affiliation of the person committing the violation.

According to him, in 39% of cases, the violation was associated with a representative of the "Strong Armenia" party. In 29% of cases, the violations were attributed to the Civil Contract party, 9% to the Armenia bloc, and approximately 8% to the Prosperous Armenia party.

A representative of the Independent Observer coalition noted that the observation mission continues to collect and summarize data, and after the elections, a more complete report on the violations recorded, their nature, and an overall assessment of the electoral process will be presented.

The "Caucasian Knot" also reported that the Independent Observer coalition demanded that the CIS mission be stripped of its accreditation for the Armenian elections. An international observer, part of the CIS mission, engaged in direct campaigning on his social media page, stated coalition representative Daniel Ioannisyan.

Source: https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/423918