CEC Approves Requests Regarding Arrested Parliamentary Candidate for Electoral Bribery

The Prosecutor General's Office reports that information was obtained as a result of operational measures implemented by the NSS of Armenia regarding a parliamentary candidate participating in the snap elections for the National Assembly scheduled for June 20, 2021. It was established that, by reaching preliminary agreements with a group of residents from Vayots Dzor province, the parliamentary candidate of the mentioned coalition offered, promised, and provided bribes ranging from 20,000 to 40,000 AMD to 28 voters registered in the electoral lists of the same province, personally and through intermediaries, between June 4 and June 14, 2021, in exchange for voting in favor of the coalition and its candidate.

A criminal case was initiated in the investigative department of the NSS of Armenia based on the features of Articles 154.2 part 1, and part 4 points 1 and 2 of the RA Criminal Code, leading to the arrest of three individuals on suspicion of bribing voters with preliminary agreements, one of whom was the mentioned coalition's parliamentary candidate.

In light of the above, the Prosecutor overseeing the process submitted requests to the CEC for consent to initiate criminal prosecution against the individual and for the permission to deprive him of liberty. Today, the CEC approved the Prosecutor's two requests regarding this individual.

The legality of the individual's arrest had previously been contested in court, which dismissed the appeal, confirming the legality of the arrest in its decision on June 20.

The CEC's decisions have been forwarded by the Prosecutor overseeing the case to the relevant body for indictment and for carrying out other necessary procedural actions. Appropriate measures are being undertaken under proper prosecutorial oversight to clarify the complete circle of individuals involved in the alleged electoral bribery scheme and to provide legal assessment of their actions.