We Have Recorded 20 Violations: Ioannisyan Provides Details on Vagharsapat Elections

"Independent Observer" continues to monitor the elections in the consolidated community of Vagharsapat with a team of 4 organizations. As of 18:30, our observers have visited all polling stations. This was stated by Daniel Ioannisyan, the program coordinator of the Civil Society Institute, during a press briefing.

"We have recorded 20 violations, 9 of which were procedural. Out of the violations, 15 occurred inside the polling station, and 5 in the nearby areas. Specifically, the following incidents were particularly notable: in 14/20, a voter attempted to vote openly, which led to an observation by the monitor, after which the voter became agitated and left. The election commission decided that the ballot should be spoiled and thrown into the ballot box torn. We discussed this and concluded that it does not constitute a criminal offense, but it is problematic behavior. We have brought this case to the attention of the territorial electoral commission. A similar situation occurred in 14/37.

In 14/29, there was an odd situation because at one point, it became clear that the ballot box was not sealed. When our observer tried to understand why it wasn’t sealed, the chairperson of the commission said that the observers from "Hayakve" had told them not to seal it. In two polling stations, number 23 and 25, the simultaneous presence of three authorized representatives of the "Victory" alliance was recorded," he mentioned.

According to Ioannisyan, there were reports of voting on behalf of another person in 5 polling stations. “Specifically, there were reports that were public on the internet, from polling stations number 10, 34, 38, 36, and 46. Our observers visited all these stations. I personally visited two of them and found that in no case was there voting on behalf of another person. Currently, law enforcement agencies are conducting checks at polling station number 34," said Ioannisyan.