Observers reported violations during the municipal elections in Armenia.

At polling stations in communities where municipal elections are taking place, violations of the secrecy of voting, procedural violations, campaigning, and illegal control have been recorded, observers stated. Many people who are forced to work outside Armenia have been deprived of access to voting, the opposition emphasized.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", the municipal elections on October 25 in Armenia are accompanied by the detention of opposition members. In Stepanavan, law enforcement detained 24 people, including the candidate for the position of community head from "Strong Armenia" Arsen Gevorgyan, who was subsequently arrested. Gevorgyan's defense rejected the accusations, stating that the money was intended for election expenses. The candidate for the position of community head in Artik, Arthur Astoyan, and members of his team were detained a day before the municipal elections, reported the opposition party "Country for Life", the court refused to arrest them. Also, on the eve of the municipal elections, law enforcement detained opposition candidates vying for the positions of community heads — the candidate from the "Republic" party David Arutyunyan in Yeghenadzor and a member of the Republican Party of Armenia Council Aram Karapetyan in Martuni.

Local self-government elections are taking place in 21 communities of Armenia

In the communities of Artashat, Armavir, Araks, Gavar, Martuni, Vardenis, Razdan, Tsakhkadzor, Garni, Artik, Akhuryan, Goris, Meghri, Yeghenadzor, Vayk, Jermuk, Ijevan, Dilijan, and Stepanavan, voting is conducted by proportional representation, while in the communities of Violetovo and Shamirami — by majority, reports Yerevan Today.

The elections will not be competitive in five communities: Vayk, Armavir, Vardenis, Garni, and Akhuryan, where only the ruling party "Civil Contract" has nominated candidates.

Observers reported violations

Observers from the "Independent Observer" alliance recorded 128 violations during the local elections in Armenia at 87 out of 380 visited polling stations. Among them are violations of the secrecy of voting, procedural violations, campaigning, and illegal control. According to observers, 35% of polling stations are completely inaccessible to people with limited mobility.

There were also recorded gatherings of people and cases of directing voters, predominantly associated, according to the alliance, with the ruling party "Civil Contract", writes "News Armenia".

The "Witness" observation mission also reported on the inaccessibility of polling stations for people with disabilities, such violations were recorded at 51 out of 233 checked stations.

A total of 117 reports of problems and possible violations were received by the mission from 75 out of 233 checked polling stations. At eight stations, reports were received about problems with the secrecy of voting, near 13 stations gatherings of people and vehicles were noticed, and in Razdan, there were reports of possible control over voters, writes Armenia Today.

As of 16:00 (15:00 Moscow time), the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia received 13 reports of alleged violations during the elections for local self-government. All of them are being checked. Materials on one case of alleged violation of the secrecy of voting have been forwarded to the investigative authority. The police are also checking publications about the elections in the media and social networks. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 138 people received certificates for inclusion in additional voter lists, while another 42 applications were rejected. Temporary identity cards for voting were issued to 95 people, the agency reported on its Facebook page.*

The residency requirement in Armenia deprived many citizens of the opportunity to vote

At polling station No. 19/21 in the village of Karmirgyukh in the Gavar community, about 30 citizens were unable to vote, reported a member of the "Ayakve" association Menua Sogomonyan.

According to him, the reason was amendments to the Electoral Code adopted by the "Civil Contract", according to which citizens must reside in Armenia for at least 366 of the last 730 days.

Sogomonyan stated that due to this requirement, about 30 people at just one polling station were unable to exercise their voting rights, writes aagenessv.

Deputy of the parliamentary faction "Armenia" Gegam Manukyan stated that in Martuni about 20 thousand residents lost the opportunity to vote in the elections for local self-government due to the new law adopted by the ruling party "Civil Contract", writes News.Am.

According to him, the restrictions affected citizens who were not in the country for a certain period. The problem was particularly acute in Martuni, from where many residents go abroad for work. Manukyan called the law discriminatory and stated that due to vague formulations, citizens found themselves in an unequal position. In particular, according to him, some dual citizens retained their voting rights because they crossed the border on Russian passports, while those entering and exiting on Armenian documents could be excluded from the voter lists.

"About 20 thousand citizens in Martuni lost their right to vote," the deputy stated, accusing the ruling power of intending to limit citizens' participation in future elections and referendums.