Armenian opposition bloc members accused of vote buying

Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee has charged five members of the opposition Victory bloc, which finished second in Sunday’s municipal elections in Vagharshapat, as part of an investigation into alleged vote buying.

The agency told Panorama.am that the suspects have been assigned defendant status in multiple criminal cases concerning the receipt, payment and mediation of election bribes. Non-custodial measures have been imposed on them.

The announcement came after Sevak Khachatryan, who headed the Victory bloc’s electoral list, reported that law-enforcement officers carried out searches at the homes of the bloc’s leaders, members and supporters in Vagharshapat.