Armenia’s parliamentary election campaign is entering an increasingly tense and confrontational stage, with opposition forces accusing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government of using state institutions, law enforcement, and administrative pressure to tilt the June 7 vote in favor of the ruling Civil Contract party.
In recent days, multiple reports have raised concerns over the use of administrative resources during Pashinyan’s campaign events. In Armenia’s Aragatsotn province, schoolteachers and students reportedly interrupted classes to attend the prime minister’s campaign rallies. The election-monitoring group Akanates said underage students were ordered by teachers, school principals, and local officials to greet Pashinyan with flags and chants, describing the situation as a serious violation of Armenian law. The group also alleged that a deputy governor helped coordinate the presence of students and school personnel at the events.
Following the uproar, Pashinyan stated that he had ordered an internal investigation and said “no violation can remain without consequences.” The Ministry of Education and the Central Election Commission also responded, though neither directly named Civil Contract in their initial statements.
The allegations widened further when Arman Tatoyan, the former human rights ombudsman and leader of the opposition Wings of Unity party, released purported audio recordings suggesting that college students in Armavir province had also been instructed to attend a Pashinyan campaign rally. In one recording, a woman identified as a Civil Contract activist and regional college teacher is heard telling students that she had been “instructed” to make sure they gathered in the square. The teacher denied wrongdoing, calling the claims politically motivated slander.
Tatoyan described the recordings as further evidence that the ruling party is abusing government levers during the campaign. He also criticized the Prosecutor-General’s Office after it said it would examine the recordings only if a formal appeal is filed in accordance with the law. Tatoyan argued that if similar accusations were made against the opposition, law enforcement would have acted immediately.
At the same time, law enforcement agencies have continued pursuing criminal cases against opposition figures and supporters. Former President Robert Kocharyan’s Hayastan alliance accused the authorities of attempting to obstruct its campaign after several members and supporters were arrested on vote-buying allegations following a search at the alliance’s office in Spitak. The Anti-Corruption Committee said the local office head had donated money to a resident and, with others, threatened another voter. Hayastan rejected the accusations as politically motivated and said the arrests were intended to create an “atmosphere of fear” before the vote.
The arrests marked the first election-related criminal case against Kocharyan’s bloc, but they followed a broader pattern already seen against Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia alliance. At least 11 election-related criminal cases have been opened against Strong Armenia, with several dozen members or supporters detained in recent weeks on vote-buying charges the bloc denies.
Opposition groups have pointed to what they describe as a double standard. While law enforcement has pursued cases against opposition-linked individuals, no Civil Contract members or supporters have been prosecuted over allegations that the ruling party is using public money, public-sector pressure, or election-related benevolence to influence voters. Civic groups had also criticized the case of Talin Mayor Tavros Sapeyan, a pro-government official who provided material aid to impoverished residents, though the Anti-Corruption Committee declined to indict him.
The political atmosphere has also been marked by increasingly aggressive rhetoric from Pashinyan himself. Campaigning in Armavir, the prime minister branded Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan a “foreign spy” and attacked claims that his government would allow the return of Azerbaijanis who lived in Soviet Armenia until the late 1980s. Karapetyan’s nephew Narek Karapetyan responded by accusing Pashinyan’s team of serving Turkish interests.
Pashinyan has also escalated his attacks on Kocharyan, declaring that the former president must “serve time” over the 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan. Kocharyan responded by calling him a “moron,” and Pashinyan answered in kind. The exchange reflects the increasingly personal and hostile tone of the campaign, as the ruling party faces serious challenges from blocs led by Kocharyan, Karapetyan, and businessman Gagik Tsarukyan.
In another case raising concerns about selective enforcement, Yerevan resident Artak Avetisyan was arrested and charged after using offensive language against Pashinyan during a live Facebook broadcast. The Investigative Committee charged him with disseminating hate speech and sought his pretrial detention. His lawyer, Ruben Melikyan, called the case politically motivated and said the authorities are cracking down on vocal critics ahead of the elections.
Other citizens have also faced criminal proceedings over offensive or disparaging comments about Pashinyan, while government supporters have not faced the same level of scrutiny for insulting or threatening opposition figures. One cited example involved a government loyalist who publicly called for the murder of Catholicos Garegin II but was not charged or even interrogated.
Taken together, the developments paint a troubling picture of Armenia’s pre-election climate: schoolchildren and students allegedly mobilized for ruling party events, opposition campaign offices searched, opposition supporters arrested, citizens prosecuted for insulting the prime minister, and the head of government himself using increasingly inflammatory language against his main challengers.
With less than a month remaining before the June 7 parliamentary elections, the central question is no longer simply which political force will win the vote. It is whether the election will be conducted in an atmosphere where citizens, public employees, students, opposition activists, and critics of the government can participate freely, without pressure, intimidation, or selective prosecution.
