Akanates questions RA CEC assertion that annulment of voting results at three polling stations did not affect election results

ArmInfo. The observation mission "Akanates" ("Eyewitness") considers the Central Electoral Commission's (CEC) assessment that the annulment of voting results at three polling stations did not affect the election results highly questionable and considers the decision not to call repeat elections problematic.

Akanates' statement recalled that on June 14, the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia summarized the results of the June 7 National Assembly elections and reviewed petitions filed by the Strong Armenia bloc and the Wings of Unity party to invalidate the election results. On June 11, it invalidated the results of the votes at three polling stations.

The mission recalled that, according to Part 1 of Article 101 of the Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia, if violations occurred during the elections that could have affected the election results, the Central Electoral Commission decides to hold re-runs of the elections in individual polling stations if this allows for the consequences of these violations to be rectified.

"The Akanates Observation Mission considers the Central Election Commission's assessment of the invalidation of the results at polling stations No. 12/13, 10/51, and 35/65 highly questionable and also questions the decision not to call repeat elections. We note that this decision is problematic from the perspective of domestic electoral legislation, international legal norms, and public trust. While the Central Election Commission's assertion that releasing preliminary results during repeat elections could lead to 'tactical voting' is based on the Venice Commission report, in this case, this cannot ignore the need to clarify the real picture of the political force that crossed the electoral threshold," the mission stated.

Akanates believes that the influence of over 3,000 votes cast in problematic precincts on the distribution of mandates cannot be ruled out without a substantiated and public mathematical calculation. "The lack of such a calculation undermines the transparency of the process. Depriving these voters of their active voting rights, based on the assumption of tactical voting, directly violates the legal principle of proportionality, since the annulment of a vote cannot be considered a 'proportionate and necessary measure' to correct an error in the organization of the elections. The Akanates observation mission notes that public trust in elections is the cornerstone of the legitimacy of any democratic process. This decision by the Central Election Commission (CEC) sets a dangerous precedent that could cloud public perceptions of the fairness of the electoral process," the observation mission stated.

As a reminder, regular parliamentary elections were held in Armenia on June 7, 2026. On June 14, CEC Chairman Vahagn Hovakimyan presented the final results of the parliamentary elections. According to him, the Civil Contract Party has entered the Armenian parliament with 49.7456% of the vote, Samvel Karapetyan's Strong Armenia bloc with 23.2710%, and second president Robert Kocharyan's Armenia bloc with 9.9231%. Gagik Tsarukyan's Prosperous Armenia Party failed to pass the 4% parliamentary threshold following a recount, receiving only 3.9893%.

Tsarukyan's party failed to pass the threshold after the Central Election Commission of Armenia annulled the results of three polling stations where Tsarukyan's party received more than 200 votes. Thus, according to Hovakimyan, the seats were distributed as follows: Pashinyan's party received 64 seats, achieving a constitutional majority of 3/5 in parliament. Karpetyan's bloc received 29 seats, and Kocharyan's bloc 12 seats.

It should be added that since the occupation of Artsakh, Baku has frequently demanded changes to the Armenian Constitution, citing its alleged territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has made this demand a precondition for signing a peace agreement with Armenia.