Tatoyan warns of intimidation ahead of June elections

Armenian opposition leader Arman Tatoyan, the prime ministerial candidate of the Wings of Unity party, has accused the authorities of enabling a culture of impunity after releasing a fresh audio recording that he says documents threats made against kindergarten directors.

In a video posted on social media on Thursday, Tatoyan, a former human rights defender, said law enforcement has failed to act on “apparent criminal offenses” despite his earlier disclosure on public television. He released a second recording in which a woman admonishes school administrators for sharing her previous message with him, warning them of the consequences.

“Not only are crimes being committed, but the sense of impunity has reached the point where people are being called and threatened,” Tatoyan said, accusing officials of “high-level patronage of electoral violations.” He argued that the threats illustrate systemic abuse undermining the integrity of the electoral process.

Armenia is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on June 7.