Spreading fear to gain an advantage: Vardevanyan on pressure ahead of elections

Systematic violations of the presumption of innocence, systematic interference in the electoral process, unrestrained abuse of administrative resources: this is the authorities’ track record. This was written on Facebook by Aram Vardevanyan, vice speaker of the National Assembly.

“The Constitutional Court spoke about such behavior by the authorities and recorded it as an electoral violation, PACE spoke about it and demanded an end to electoral persecution. Launching a repressive machine just four days before the Council of Elders elections and circulating video recordings: it is obvious that the aim of all this is anti-democratic interference in the electoral process. A criminal case has been opened: conduct the investigation on the basis of the law, and do not sow fear or try to gain an advantage this way,” he wrote.