Criminal Proceedings Launched Against 6 More Individuals for Suspected Vote Bribery

The Chief Advisor of the Prosecutor's Office, Arthur Davtyan, announced on his Facebook page that the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has approved the Prosecutor’s recommendations to initiate criminal proceedings and restrict the freedom of a parliamentary candidate accused of providing apparent vote bribery.

“As we were informed earlier, a group of individuals was arrested on suspicion of bribing two or more voters with premeditated agreement. Those arrested included the head of the territorial office of one of the parties participating in the snap parliamentary elections in Gavar and the secretary of that same office. A criminal case was initiated under the first part of Article 154.2 and the first and second points of the fourth part of the same article of the Armenian Criminal Code, and the preliminary investigation is being conducted by the National Security Service of Armenia.

Given that the head of the party's territorial office is also included in the candidate list of that party, the prosecutor in charge of overseeing the legality of the preliminary investigation filed a request to the Central Electoral Commission yesterday for permission to initiate criminal proceedings against him and restrict his freedom, in accordance with the established legal procedure.

As a result of today’s meeting, the CEC approved the recommended decisions. The decisions of the CEC, as prescribed by the prosecuting attorney in charge, have been sent to the relevant authorities, instructing them to file charges and carry out the necessary procedural actions.

In addition, criminal proceedings have been initiated against 7 more individuals in this case, one of whom is suspected of offering vote bribery and six of receiving vote bribery. The prosecution assures that it will persist with other law enforcement agencies in uncovering any similar criminal acts, providing criminal-legal assessments, and holding the guilty parties accountable proportionately.

We urge all subjects involved in the elections to refrain from engaging in illegal activities related to the elections, entering into criminal relationships, or taking any steps aimed at influencing citizens' free choice. Any such action will receive the strictest legal response possible.