Pashinyan urges voters to fight pre-election bribes, while Civil Contract candidates are accused of numerous violations

Nikol Pashinyan, prime minister of Armenia, has posted an appeal to voters on social media.

“I call on all voters in the Republic of Armenia to go to the polls and vote against candidates and political forces that use administrative leverage, threats, nepotism, threats of dismissal or promises of employment, and that hand out and/or promise pre-election bribes.

If any Civil Contract candidate behaves in this way, I urge you to vote against that candidate.

At the same time, please report all such cases to me or to law enforcement,” he wrote.

As a reminder, local self-government elections will be held in 46 communities across Armenia in autumn 2026. The Central Electoral Commission has set three voting days: September 27, October 25 and November 29.

It should also be noted that in a number of communities, Civil Contract is running alone, with no opposition candidates. There are already reports that Civil Contract community heads held Council of Elders meetings while on leave. It is also reported that Hovhannes Hakobyan, Civil Contract candidate in Masis community, is allegedly promising phones as a pre-election bribe and involving minors in political advertising.