Equality of opportunity was undermined in National Assembly elections, flagrant violations recorded: Aram Vardevanyan at PACE

Aram Vardevanyan, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and a member of the Strong Armenia faction, spoke at a PACE session in Strasbourg.

“Honorable members of the Assembly!

We often call elections the cornerstone of democracy, but their enduring value lies in equality of opportunity, the sacred guarantee that all political forces can compete on fair and equal terms.

The election observation report clearly documents that the parliamentary elections held in Armenia on June 7 were accompanied by systematic violations organized by the Civil Contract party, including flagrant abuse of administrative resources and an unprecedented wave of criminal cases aimed directly at opposition figures.

These facts shaped a widespread public perception of electoral justice and deliberately obstructed the election campaign of opposition supporters.

The situation on the ground was shocking. More than 300 members of the Strong Armenia alliance were detained or arrested, with persistent violations of the presumption of innocence. These calculated actions by the government created an atmosphere of deep fear.

Equality of opportunity was also undermined by the fact that Samvel Karapetyan, leader of the Strong Armenia bloc, was unlawfully held under house arrest, deprived of the right to campaign. Today, the leaders of three opposition parties are deprived of their liberty as a result of political instructions from Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister.

Moreover, more than 90 percent of the ruling party’s electoral list consists of state workers, which has blurred the line between party and state and eroded the principle of equality in elections.

Instead of debating policies and programs, the ruling party spread openly hateful rhetoric and a policy of intimidation, including threats of physical violence against opponents, as well as the threat of a new war should Civil Contract fail to keep its constitutional majority.

The Central Electoral Commission, headed by one of the founders of the ruling party, was completely devoid of impartiality. On its own initiative, the Commission invalidated the results of two polling stations, leaving one of the opposition parties below the threshold and handing additional seats to Civil Contract.

The ruling party then rushed to entrench an artificial and unlawful majority of three-fifths of the votes, thereby degrading the value of parliamentarism.

Dear colleagues,

Democracy cannot exist unless the values of freedom and equality are protected. That is why the election observation report presented to the Parliamentary Assembly today is of paramount importance. The systemic violations committed by the ruling party have been clearly identified, and this can and should be seen as a victory over Civil Contract’s one-sided propaganda.

The people of Armenia deserve a truly free, fair and equal electoral process. The Republic of Armenia deserves genuine democracy that meets the best European standards. Thank you.

May the Lord bless the Republic of Armenia. May God bless you all,” Vardevanyan said.