The Central Election Commission of Armenia has rejected an appeal submitted by Aram Vardevanyan, the authorized representative of the Strong Armenia alliance, seeking consideration of possible liability measures against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan over statements made during the election campaign, according to Sputnik Armenia.
The appeal proposed that competent authorities be asked to provide a legal assessment of remarks made during the campaign by Pashinyan, who heads the electoral list of the ruling Civil Contract party.
“…Although the vocabulary used does not fall within the framework of restraint and political correctness in election campaigning, it nevertheless does not create a perception of ‘psychological, physical or religious coercion, calls for violence, threats of violence or any other form of coercion,’” the CEC concluded.
For that reason, the commission said it found no violation of election campaigning regulations.
It was noted that Vardevanyan had argued in his complaint that systemic violations observed during the campaign threaten the legitimacy of the electoral process and create unequal conditions for political competition.
The complaint stated that the election campaigning conducted by Pashinyan “has gone beyond the legal boundaries of political debate and freedom of expression.” It claimed that his public speeches contained statements discrediting various political forces, including the Strong Armenia alliance, inciting public hostility and humiliating the dignity of party leaders.
The complaint also highlighted several excerpts from Pashinyan’s public speeches in which he referred to the political forces led by Robert Kocharyan, Samvel Karapetyan and Gagik Tsarukyan as a “three-headed party of war.” Pashinyan also used phrases such as “criminal mafia,” “criminal-oligarchic regime,” and said they had “entered their final battle to seize power.”
According to Vardevanyan’s submission, those remarks were aimed at generating negative emotions, fear, hatred and aggression among voters toward other political forces, including Strong Armenia.
The complaint also cited one of Pashinyan’s speeches in which he said: “…I will bring them to their knees, destroy them… I will also crush the Kaluga man, destroy him, bring him to his knees…” and other similar remarks.
The election campaign that began on May 8 will continue until June 5. June 6 will be a day of silence, and voting will take place on June 7. On May 25, it became known that the Alliance Progressive Centrist Party submitted a request to withdraw, after which the CEC invalidated the registration of its electoral list. There will be no ballot paper numbered 13 in the upcoming elections.
