Armenian opposition members arrested after contesting election
Summary
Several opposition members in Armenia were arrested after this month’s election, which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s party won. The opposition accused the government of election fraud and voter bribery, while the government denied these claims and said the opposition also bribed voters. The Constitutional Court will decide soon whether to review the election complaints.Key Facts
- Armenia’s ruling party, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, won about 49.7% of the vote in the June 7 election.
- The opposition Strong Armenia party asked the Constitutional Court to cancel the election results or hold a new vote, claiming fraud.
- Several opposition politicians were arrested on charges of vote buying and bribery.
- The government denies wrongdoing and says the opposition is also guilty of bribery.
- The Constitutional Court will decide within two days whether to hear the opposition’s case.
- Observers said voters had a real choice but noted many criminal cases against opposition candidates, raising concerns about fairness.
- Strong Armenia is led by Armenian-Russian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, currently under house arrest on charges related to attempting to overthrow the government.
- Russia, which has a military base in Armenia, opposes Armenia’s move away from Moscow toward the West and imposed trade bans before the election.
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