Vagharshapat opposition leader accuses authorities of continued pressure

Sevak Khachatryan, the lead candidate of the opposition Victory alliance that placed second in the Vagharshapat municipal elections on Sunday, accused the Armenian authorities of continuing political pressure against his team even after the vote.

“We are going to take up our municipal council seats. The 10,000 people who voted for us deserve to have their voices represented in the local administration,” Khachatryan told a press conference on Tuesday. He added that his faction intends to prove through its work that it had a “clearer and better vision” for the community than the incoming leadership.

Khachatryan said the election campaign began under “unequal conditions” marked by violations and that those conditions have persisted after the vote.

“The voting is over, but the unequal conditions and the pressure on our political team continue,” he said.

His remarks came one day after law enforcement conducted searches at the homes of leaders, supporters, and members of the Victory bloc. On Monday, Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee told Panorama.am that five individuals had been charged as part of a criminal investigation into alleged vote-buying and noncustodial preventive measures had been imposed on them.

Khachatryan said he has not been summoned for questioning and that no search has been conducted at his home.

“I am not involved in the criminal proceedings initiated by the Anti-Corruption Committee. They mentioned five people, I don’t even know three of them and have had no contact with them. They are our voters, residents of Vagharshapat,” he said. “It seems they are looking for someone to give false testimony against me. They can’t find anyone because no such thing exists.”

Khachatryan argued that the ruling party cannot accept that, despite holding consolidated power in Vagharshapat, a strong opposition team still secured 10,000 votes.

“Imagine if we had won. I think the whole team would have already been in prison,” he said.

Khachatryan further accused the authorities of attempting to discredit his bloc ahead of Armenia’s parliamentary elections in 2026.

“Before the upcoming parliamentary elections, they are trying to do their dirty work, to tarnish our team just as they tried throughout the campaign. But they failed then and they will fail now,” he added.