Reports of Violations Related to the Referendum are Under Investigation

The working group of the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia has investigated and summarized cases of alleged electoral violations recorded in the country from February 10 to March 4, 2020, following the issuance of the President's decree on February 9, 2020, regarding the 'Call for a Referendum on Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia.'

During this period, a total of 12 reports concerning apparent electoral violations related to the April 5, 2020, constitutional referendum were documented. Five of these reports were based on publications in mass media and remarks made by citizens on social networks, which were identified during the ongoing monitoring conducted by the working group of the Prosecutor General's Office. Three reports were submitted by citizens to the Prosecutor's Office, one was a call made by a citizen to the Prosecutor's Office hotline, two were alerts from citizens to the Police, and one was a report from law enforcement officials.

Among these, three were applications concerning the same individual's administrative violations, for which clarifications were provided to the applicant. The remaining nine cases contained abstract and general information. These are being studied by the working group and are under verification or are still being checked under the supervision of prosecutors from the Prosecutor’s Office divisions.

Notably, for two of these cases, the fact of alleged violations has already been disproven and left without consequences, while verification procedures are ongoing for the other seven cases.

The working group established at the Prosecutor General's Office, in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, continues to examine media publications, reports, and alerts from citizens concerning apparent electoral violations during the preparation and conduct of the constitutional amendments referendum on April 5, 2020. They are also focused on improving the effectiveness of prosecutorial oversight regarding the investigative actions based on these reports, document preparation, and the legality of the pre-trial investigation of initiated criminal cases. Further results will be presented in due course,” the statement said.