Police Record 172 Cases of Electoral Violations, 101 Cases Under Progress

Prior to the election campaign and during the election campaign, the police have recorded 172 cases of electoral violations, with 101 cases currently being investigated, while the others are under review. The police department reports that an operational headquarters will be engaged in issues related to the preparation for the elections, the verification of electoral rolls, and the detection of voting violations. This was reported by 1lurer.am.

Ara Fidanyan, Deputy Chief of the Armenian Police, stated that there have been 17 cases of receiving electoral bribes or obstructing voters' free expression of will, 10 cases of being forced or hindered to participate in election campaigning, 1 case of obstructing a journalist's legal professional activity, 14 cases of intentionally damaging property, 8 cases of hooliganism, assault, and threats, and 6 cases of other types of violations. Additionally, 6 reports have been received from political forces participating in the campaign.

The police also inform that extensive work has been carried out to determine the actual number of voters. Citizens who have the right to vote but are located outside of Armenia have not been removed from the lists.

Regarding the progress of the campaign, the police assure that they are maintaining the safety of all candidates. Ara Fidanyan emphasized, “We do not focus on any specific political force; we pay attention to ensuring public safety.” He also responded to a statement made by one of the police officers claiming that their employees are being forced to participate in campaigns. Fidanyan clarified, “Our colleague in the service joined the police system in September 2020, has not participated in even the military operations, while almost the entire internal troops personnel has been involved. There should be at least 1 year of service in the police to give advice or directions to others.”