Arman Tatoyan, the prime ministerial candidate of the Wings of Unity party, said during an appearance on Public Television Company of Armenia that the ruling Civil Contract party is using administrative resources during the election campaign, publishing what he described as an audio recording as evidence.
According to the recording, officials from the education department of Martuni municipality called kindergarten directors and instructed them to ensure attendance at the opening of the Civil Contract party’s central office, according to Sputnik Armenia.
“Hello, dear directors, today at 7 p.m. the Civil Contract central office will open in Martuni, so please inform your male employees that they must обязательно attend,” a voice is heard saying in the recording.
According to Tatoyan, lists were later compiled in Martuni containing the names of citizens who do not support the current authorities, and the information was transferred to the municipality administration.
“This is the current reality — elections are being conducted unfairly from the very beginning,” Tatoyan said.
He added that the materials would also be submitted to law enforcement agencies for investigation.
It was also noted that Tatoyan had earlier released another recording which, according to him, captured a lecturer at the Armavir State Regional College pressuring students to participate in Civil Contract’s election campaign. On May 18, Tatoyan submitted a crime report to the prosecutor’s office, but said no response has yet been received.
Tatoyan also claimed that the main distributor of vote-buying incentives is the current government. According to him, there is evidence showing that land plots were gifted to citizens.
The official election campaign began on May 8 and will continue through June 5 inclusive. On May 25, it became known that the Alliance Progressive Centrist Party, listed under number 13 on the ballot, submitted a request to withdraw from the race.
