Elections Are Not Taking Place, But the Campaign Has Started: 'Zhoghovurd'

Parliamentary factions in Armenia have launched a pre-election campaign, at least that is what the actions of the parliamentary groups 'My Step', 'Prosperous Armenia', and 'Bright Armenia' indicate. This is happening despite Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's only Facebook announcement that elections will be held on June 20.

The parliamentary factions are getting to work, while extra-parliamentary forces have yet to take any public action and are waiting for steps from the authorities. Given the established quarantine in Armenia and the recording of several hundred new coronavirus cases in one day, the regional visits by the parties can hardly be termed anything other than electoral campaigning.

For instance, some members of the 'Civil Contract' party spent Saturday in the Aragatsotn region with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. They visited several cities and held gatherings, where the Prime Minister often wore a mask but did not maintain social distance and casually greeted people, interacting with the locals.

This behavior extends to other members of the 'My Step' faction, and even from the published footage, it is evident that many of them are not wearing masks during these pandemic conditions, disregarding the quarantine imposed by the authorities.

Moreover, the 'Zhoghovurd' newspaper learned that the Prime Minister and his team will make regional visits on a weekly basis until the official start of the campaign, and just yesterday he gathered his team at the party.

It's worth noting that Article 19 of the Electoral Code of Armenia states: 'The period of pre-election campaigning begins on the seventh day following the last day established by this code for the registration of electoral lists and candidates of parties participating in the elections, and ends one day before the voting day. During this period, the campaigning is referred to as pre-election campaigning.' The same article also stipulates: 'The establishment of the period for pre-election campaigning does not limit the implementation of campaigning in other periods not prohibited by this code.'

This means that it can be recorded that political forces are utilizing the right provided in Article 19 of the Electoral Code and have already started pre-election campaigning three months in advance.