Former President Robert Kocharyan’s Hayastan Alliance announced Tuesday that it will appeal to Armenia’s Constitutional Court to annul the official results of Sunday’s parliamentary elections, which several opposition forces have denounced as fraudulent.
According to preliminary results released by the Central Election Commission, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party received 49.8 percent of the vote. Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia bloc placed second with 23.3 percent, while Hayastan received nearly 10 percent.
Gagik Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia Party fell just short of the 4 percent threshold required to enter parliament, reportedly missing it by only several dozen votes. The party has requested recounts in several precincts and says it has already identified discrepancies between precinct-level protocols and the CEC’s reported figures.
Hayastan, Strong Armenia, Prosperous Armenia, and other opposition forces have cited widespread irregularities, arrests of opposition members and supporters, pressure by state bodies, and the heavy use of administrative resources during the campaign and vote count. They also criticized Pashinyan for declaring a “historic victory” early Monday, when less than one-fifth of ballots had been counted.
Hayastan representative Ishkhan Saghatelyan said the alliance will take its case to the Constitutional Court after the final results are published.
“Despite clearly understanding who sits in the Constitutional Court, their constraints, and the fact that they are clearly government appendages, we will go to the Constitutional Court with weighty facts,” Saghatelyan said, adding that the bloc’s legal team is preparing the appeal.
Strong Armenia has also indicated it may challenge the results after the CEC releases final figures. Its representatives emphasized that Prosperous Armenia’s entry into parliament could significantly weaken Civil Contract’s control, depriving Pashinyan’s party of the 60 percent majority needed to pass certain key laws and confirm senior officials and judges.
Former Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan’s party has also demanded recounts, saying the preliminary results “do not reflect the true will of the citizens of Armenia.”
The CEC is expected to release final election results on Sunday.
