CEC Chairman Received Real Estate and 2 Land Plots as Gifts, Keeping the Giver Secret

The Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), Vahagn Hovakimyan, who has been a member of the ruling Civil Contract party's administration founded by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, is currently organizing the Yerevan City Council elections. This is reported by the newspaper "Zhoghovurd."

It is strange that during a press conference, Hovakimyan spoke about the transparency of declarations, yet he did not disclose the source of his properties acquired as a donation in 2020, which include a building in Ajapnyak and two land plots connected to real estate.

According to Armenian legislation, a newly built property registered by the cadastral agency, when connected to a single land plot, is held in sole ownership, while the other land plot is co-owned. Therefore, the identity of the donor remains unknown.

Nearly two months after receiving a parliamentary mandate, Hovakimyan acquired a new vehicle, a 2012 Nissan. He has never owned a car in his lifetime.

At the end of the year, the balances of the CEC chairman's bank accounts amounted to $6,000 and 335,000 AMD, with cash assets totaling 2 million AMD. According to his 2022 income declaration, his reported income for the year was 9,181,000 AMD, of which 6,142,000 AMD was from the National Assembly and 3,039,000 AMD from the Central Electoral Commission.

Hovakimyan is the 100% owner of the company "Hovakimyans N.M." His wife, Lusine Movsisyan, is declared as an individual entrepreneur, yet no details are mentioned in the declaration.

According to the State Register of Legal Entities and the State Revenue Committee of Armenia, his wife's enterprise engages in cultural activities, particularly in creative, artistic, and event organization fields. Hovakimyan has two sons, and in 2005, he established a company named "Hovakimyans N.M." using the initials of his sons' names.

His son, Misak Hovakimyan, serves as a first-class specialist in the Environmental Program Implementation Office. He declared his father's vehicle and reported an income of 2,366,000 AMD, which is his salary from the same office. His other son, Narek Hovakimyan, works as a second-class engineer at "Synopsys Armenia" LLC, which ranked 32nd among the top 1,000 taxpayers in Armenia in the first quarter of 2023. He declared 2 million AMD as a bank deposit, with bank account balances amounting to 264,000 AMD. His reported income for the year was 6,753,000 AMD, with 5,608,000 AMD from his salary at "Synopsys Armenia" LLC.

Hovakimyan's mother, Khanum Hovhannisyan, who lives with him, disclosed 1,095,000 AMD in bank deposits and a pension of 610,000 AMD. None of Hovakimyan's family members, aside from himself, declared ownership of real estate. This raises the question of how Hovakimyan received a donation for the land plot he co-owns, leaving the source of the gift unclear. Additionally, it is worth noting that both of Hovakimyan's sons have presumably been exempted from mandatory military service thanks to their father's direct efforts.