32 Reports Received from 9 Communities in 6 Regions: Gor Abrahamyan

The advisor to the Chief Prosecutor Gor Abrahamyan's Facebook post states:

“On October 17, local self-government elections were also held in the communities of Dilijan in Tavush region, Fenik in Armavir region, Shamiram in Aragatsotn region, and Fiolotovo in Lori region. In these elections, only one report was received by law enforcement regarding apparent electoral or other related offenses. This report was based on a media publication concerning voting on the election day for the Dilijan city council elections, where an apparent voting incident involved voting on behalf of another person and crowding near the polling station. The Tavush region prosecutor's office has forwarded that publication to the Police for verification actions.

Thus, the overall picture is as follows: by the end of voting on October 17, 32 reports of alleged electoral crimes were received in the local self-government elections held in 9 communities across 6 regions of the Republic, including in the cities of Gyumri, Goris, Meghri, and Dilijan, the overwhelming majority of which are based on media publications. The prosecution has ensured that appropriate legal processes are conducted for all of these reports. Specifically, one criminal case has been initiated under characteristics of electoral bribery, while for 5 other cases, one relates to apparent assault, one to violations in compiling voter lists, one to exercising electoral rights, hindering the work of electoral commissions or the authorities participating in elections, one to obstructing a journalist's professional activities, and one to voting on behalf of another person; materials are being prepared for these cases. Furthermore, verification actions have been initiated for 26 reports to verify the circumstances mentioned in these reports, particularly in media publications, and to ascertain whether there are grounds for initiating criminal proceedings.

In two cases among these, the verifications already conducted have not confirmed any data regarding criminal acts, and those cases have been left without consequence. As with previous nationwide elections, the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Armenia remains consistent in ensuring appropriate measures for all instances that come to its attention. Necessary information regarding the results will be provided periodically as needed.

Note: The Prosecutor's Office of Armenia previously released official statements regarding the elections in the communities of Goris, Tegh, Tatev in Syunik region, as well as in Gyumri in Shirak region.