At a meeting on June 5, the Armenian Central Election Commission refused to remove the “Strong Armenia” bloc led by pro-Russian businessman Samvel Karapetyan from the parliamentary elections. This was stated by the Armenian editorial office of Radio Liberty.
The pro-European opposition “Republic” party filed a complaint demanding that Karapetyan’s bloc be removed from the elections. She claimed that “Strong Armenia” was bribing voters before the elections. The Central Election Commission unanimously decided that there were no reasons to withdraw from the elections.
The Republic appealed to the Central Election Commission after the corresponding call made by the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, which he made during the discussion.
The Prime Minister’s party, the Civil Contract, did not submit a request to the Central Election Commission. Pashinyan explained this by saying that he did not want to create grounds for allegations that he was trying to remove his opponents from the elections due to fear of defeat.
Elections in Armenia are scheduled for June 7. Observers describe it as “historic”: it is expected to determine the country’s political direction for years to come. “Strong Armenia” calls for rapprochement with Russia, while “Civil Contract” plans to begin integration into the European Union.