Amendments to the Electoral Code must be comprehensive and not  limited to the work of observation missions - HCA Vanadzor Office 

ArmInfo. Amendments to Armenia's Electoral Code must be more comprehensive and not limited to the work of observation missions, as stated by Vardine Grigoryan, Program Director at the Vanadzor Office of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly (HCA), during a press conference in Yerevan, when referring to the amendments made to the country's Electoral Code.

She recalled that the observer missions themselves had initiated  these changes to the Electoral Code. "An application was submitted to  the Central Election Commission (CEC) regarding the activities of  observation missions. Although the code requires missions to maintain  neutrality, it lacks mechanisms for deregistering them if this  requirement is violated. Thus, the requirement existed, but there  were virtually no consequences for violating it. That's why we  presented this initiative, including regarding funding transparency,"  Grigoryan clarified.

She stated that the need for changes arose due to the fact that some  missions spend large sums, the origins of which remain unknown. She  also emphasized that the problem is not limited to the work of  observation missions. She stated that it is precisely the unequal  playing field and lack of transparency that create doubts about the  fairness of the elections. "That's why we believe more comprehensive  changes to the Electoral Code are needed, ones that go beyond simply  regulating the work of election observation missions. We hope that  such an opportunity will remain. We believe that it's essential to  eradicate all factors that could impact a fair and honest electoral  process," Grigoryan emphasized.

According to her, the main issue is related to the financial  transparency of political forces. She noted that the regulations  regarding election funds are clear: during the election campaign, all  expenses must be financed exclusively from the election fund.  However, as Grigoryan noted, during other periods, they observe  uncontrolled financial flows. "Such an initiative must come from  either the Ministry of Justice or the National Assembly of Armenia.  The Central Election Commission may also participate in drafting such  amendments to the Electoral Code, but in fact, the Central Election  Commission must implement the amendment, not initiate it.

Recall, on March 3, 2026, Sona Ayvazyan, Executive Director of the  Transparency International Anti- Corruption Center, stated that the  National Assembly of Armenia must introduce changes to the Electoral  Code and ensure transparency of information on the financial flows of  political parties before the parliamentary elections on June 7, 2026.  According to Ayvazyan, party funding remains opaque, making it  difficult to monitor the movement of these funds. She explained that  previously, information on party fund receipts was available before  the elections. Now, as the Executive Director of the Anti-Corruption  Center noted, funding data for 2025 will only be available at the end  of May 2026, and information from June 2025 to May 2026 will only be  available in 2027.