Hate Speech and Threats by Pashinyan Targeted Not Only Political Opponents But Also Voters, Says Davit Harutyunyan

During the ongoing hearings at the Constitutional Court regarding the annulment of the parliamentary election results, former Minister of Justice Davit Harutyunyan, representing the "Honorary Have" alliance, stated that the June 20 early parliamentary elections were marred by unprecedented electoral violations in the history of Armenia.

"These violations can strike a double blow to the statehood. On one hand, these violations directly delegitimize the National Assembly, which in turn jeopardizes the legitimacy of bodies formed subsequently by the National Assembly. On the other hand, not responding to such violations will create a practice of acceptability for them in the coming years, posing a threat to Armenia's democratic future," Harutyunyan said.

Harutyunyan presented the documented violations in nine theses:

• Threats of physical force or administrative influence and psychological terror.
• The first candidate on the "Civil Contract" list, being a representative of the authorities, violated the principle of electoral freedom.
• Documented reports by the Human Rights Defender confirming the violations of human rights during the elections.
• A court ruling confirmed that Pashinyan's statements contained threats and that these threats were ongoing.
• Pashinyan's calls were perceived not only as real but also had actual repercussions (criminal prosecutions, resignations, personnel purges).
• The actions and inactions of law enforcement further harmed the right to free elections.
• Violations of the right to free elections were evident, providing grounds for annulment of the election results.
• Discriminatory conditions in public television coverage breached the principle of equality.
• Pashinyan unlawfully held the position of interim Prime Minister.

Concluding his 1.5-hour address, Davit Harutyunyan stated, "Dear Supreme Court, we ask you to annul the election results. We are indeed standing at a crossroads, and one of the paths is legitimizing these violations, which will cause irreparable damage to democracy in Armenia. I am confident that the Constitutional Court will choose the second path."

After his speech, Harutyunyan answered questions from the members of the Constitutional Court.