Authorities in Yerevan suspended the ban on the ruling party’s main opponent, Strong Armenia
Armenian authorities have detained six parliamentary candidates from the opposition group Strong Armenia a day before the country heads to Sunday’s general election.
During a recent televised debate, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who came to power in 2018 following street protests called “The Velvet Revolution” he called for the cancellation of the registration of several major opposition groups.
The Central Election Commission refused to remove Strong Armenia from Sunday’s vote entirely, but approved requests for criminal proceedings and pretrial detention of six candidates: Hayk Avagyan, Susan Badalyan, Artur Abrahamyan, Vahe Tavakalyan, Vahe Yeghiazaryan, and Ashot Sahakyan.
“During the preliminary investigation of the criminal case regarding the influence of mass material and large-scale money laundering, public criminal charges have been initiated against six parliamentary candidates from the Armenian Power camp,” The Investigative Committee said in a statement on Saturday, adding that all six were taken into custody.
Opposition forces accused the authorities of mounting pressure ahead of the vote, in which Pashinyan’s ruling Civil Pact party – which has pushed for closer ties with the EU while maintaining close ties with Russia – is expected to remain the largest in parliament, but may fail to form a single-party majority government.
Pashinyan’s leadership is contested by a fractured opposition of 17 parties and political blocs. The Strong Armenia coalition, led by Russian-Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan, takes second place, although figures vary widely by voter, how many parties cross the 4% threshold, and how the roughly 30% of undecided voters split. If the Civil Charter fails to secure a majority, coalition talks between its opponents are not guaranteed to succeed.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the Armenian authorities of undermining democratic processes, warning that such behavior casts doubt on the legitimacy of the elections. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev similarly accused Pashinyan “trying to eliminate all his opponents in the election.”
Moscow warned that closer cooperation with the EU would make Armenia’s continued membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) impossible due to inconsistent standards. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned in May that the South Caucasus nation could lose up to 14% of its GDP if it leaves the economic body.
Earlier this month, former President Robert Kocharyan he warned that the Pashinyan government was “fake” to turn Armenia into an enemy of Russia and lead the country on the same path as Ukraine.
