Daniel Ioannisyan, representative of the Independent Observer alliance and coordinator of the Union of Informed Citizens NGO, addressed violations recorded during the election campaign, including the misuse of administrative resources, alleged vote-buying cases and problems related to transparency in political financing, speaking about incidents involving both the authorities and opposition forces.
He stated that cases had been uncovered in which people were pressured to participate in the Civil Contract campaign against their will, Factor.am reported.
Referring to the prime minister’s statement that an investigation was underway into the possible use of administrative resources by school directors in Aparan, Ioannisyan said law enforcement agencies should become involved when there are visible elements of a criminal offense.
“In this case, we see a labor law violation and an administrative offense. We are already preparing a lawsuit to submit to court in an attempt to hold the directors administratively accountable. If we succeed, this will be the first time in Armenia’s history that directors are held administratively liable for such an act,” he said.
He added that criminal liability could only arise if coercion were proven, which, according to him, is difficult to establish in this case.
According to Ioannisyan, although many accusations have been voiced against Strong Armenia, there has been unequal treatment in media coverage of those allegations. He said some media outlets associated with the political force avoid covering vote-buying cases, which, in his opinion, may indicate coordinated instructions.
“The fact that these media outlets are trying to leave these vote-buying cases and revelations entirely on the sidelines leads me to conclude that they have likely or presumably received instructions from those central forces or headquarters,” he said.
At the same time, Ioannisyan stressed that centrally organized mass election violations are far more dangerous than isolated local initiatives.
He also addressed the financial activities of opposition forces, saying there are serious transparency issues in that area.
“There are other forces that are a walking disaster in terms of financial transparency. A complete walking disaster. For example, none of Arman Tatoyan’s 33 campaign offices had state registration. The law requires registering such property leases with the cadastre within 30 days. This raises questions for me even beyond electoral matters — for example, whether taxes are being paid on those properties,” he said.
According to Ioannisyan, the same issue also exists with the Unity alliance, whose advertising campaign funding sources remain unknown.
Daniel Ioannisyan also expressed concern about possible bias within the law enforcement system. In his assessment, violations committed by opposition forces are investigated much faster and more harshly than cases attributed to the authorities.
“The fact that Armenia’s law enforcement agencies investigate violations committed by the authorities much more reluctantly than those committed by the opposition is unfortunately not new. It did not start today or yesterday,” he said.
As an example, he cited a case of alleged abuse of official authority recorded during elections in Vagharshapat, the investigation of which, according to him, has dragged on for months.
The election campaign that began on May 8 will continue until June 5. June 6 will be observed as a day of silence, and elections will be held on June 7.
