Ex-FM: Scale, depth, and organization of falsifications in recent  elections unprecedented in history of Armenia

ArmInfo.  The scale, depth, and organization of the falsifications in the parliamentary elections held in Armenia on June 7 are unprecedented in the history of the  republic, according to former Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan  Oskanyan.

The diplomat said he followed the entire electoral process in Armenia  in detail: the pre-election campaign, the day of silence, election  day, the vote count, subsequent events, as well as the hearings in  the Constitutional Court and the evidence presented. "Today, I am  more convinced than ever that the actual electoral support for the  force led by Nikol Pashinyan did not exceed 35-39% of the vote. In my  assessment, any result exceeding this figure was the result of  systematic manipulation, numerous violations, and electoral fraud.

During the 35 years of Armenia's existence, there have been disputed  elections before, and, as a rule, normal life continued. However,  this time the situation is fundamentally different. Firstly, the  scale, depth, and organization of the electoral fraud, in my opinion,  are unprecedented in the history of Armenia.  Secondly, these  elections were organized by a government that came to power in 2018  with the promise to eradicate electoral fraud once and for all," the  diplomat noted, adding that the above suggests that the accusations  being brought forward today affect not only the results of these  elections but also the very foundations of the political and moral  legitimacy of this government. Thirdly, Oskanyan believes that  Armenia has never been at such an ontological crossroads as today,  when fundamental questions concerning sovereignty, security, national  identity, and the future of the state are on the agenda, and the  question of the government's legitimacy becomes decisive.

"Never before has Armenia found itself in a situation where a  government, having declared victory in the elections, first inflicted  so much pain, destruction, and loss on the Armenian people during its  eight years in power, and then advanced programs that alter the  nature of Armenian statehood: the creation of a 'Fourth Republic,'  constitutional amendments, the creation of a 'corridor,' the transfer  of sovereign Armenian territories to Azerbaijan, the transformation  and control of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the reformulation of  the foundations of Armenian national identity, and the implementation  of other similar initiatives. Regardless of one's position on these  issues, they are of such historical and ontological significance that  even raising them, let alone discussing or implementing them, cannot  be based on disputed legitimacy or a highly dubious electoral  mandate," Oskanyan concluded.

As a reminder, parliamentary elections were held in Armenia on June  7, 2026. Voter turnout was 58.97%.  According to preliminary data  from the Central Election Commission of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan's  ruling Civil Contract party, Samvel Karapetyan's Strong Armenia bloc,  and second president Robert Kocharyan's Armenia bloc have entered  parliament. The remaining candidates scored below the required  threshold of 4% for parties and 8-10% for blocs.

Notably, businessman Gagik Tsarukyan's Prosperous Armenia party lost  its 4% threshold after the Central Election Commission adjusted the  preliminary vote counts for the country's parliamentary elections.   Therefore, the party will not enter the new parliament.

On June 19, seven political forces filed applications with the  Constitutional Court of Armenia demanding that the results of the  June 7 parliamentary elections be declared invalid. On June 21, the  Constitutional Court decided to consolidate all cases into a single  proceeding. The first hearing of the Constitutional Court of Armenia  began on June 26.

The deadline for the court's decision was July 4. The High Court  ruled to uphold the country's election results.

It should be noted that on election day, observers and journalists  reported numerous violations by the ruling party during the voting  process from early morning. Thus, Pashinyan's party has the  opportunity to single- handedly form the country's government by  securing a majority of seats in the Armenian parliament.  Pashinyan  solemnly announced this late at night, when data from only about 10%  of polling stations had been processed.