The 'No' Campaign Claims Public Assistance During Election Campaigns Contradicts the Law

The 'No' campaign has issued a statement regarding the promised assistance to Mekhak Arakelyan's family from the 'Yes' campaign. They noted that conducting such public actions during the election campaign phase, in the lead-up to the referendum, is incompatible with the requirements of the first point of part 15 of Article 17 of the Constitutional Law on Referenda.

The full statement is as follows:

This morning, Syipan Pashinyan, a member of the 'My Step' faction in the National Assembly and a supporter of the 'Yes' campaign, posted on Facebook that he plans to visit Mekhak Arakelyan, a resident of Kurtan village, and that he has "good news for [M. Arakelyan]." The latter gained public attention recently due to a high-profile incident.

Today, the deputy visited Mekhak Arakelyan’s home and mentioned that various citizens had contacted him, expressing their willingness to assist M. Arakelyan's family, which faces serious social issues, and that he was visiting at the request of those citizens. He added that if citizens are interested, he will provide more details after the referendum.

While we greatly appreciate that assistance will be provided to M. Arakelyan's family, we emphasize that conducting such public actions in the lead-up to the referendum, particularly showcasing one’s role in supporting a vulnerable family, is evidently incompatible with the aforementioned legal requirements.

We assure you that we would not have reacted had it become clear that the assistance was being provided without 'Facebook and cameras.' Furthermore, we would view that as a humanitarian and just step. However, the chosen format has effectively turned into a dishonest campaign tactic, which we cannot ignore.

At the same time, the 'No' campaign states that we will not include this specific incident in our upcoming public report regarding the campaign's progress and will not raise it before our international partners.