Armenian opposition party to challenge election results in top court, member says

Armen Galstyan, a parliamentary candidate from the Wings of Unity party, said on Tuesday that his political force will appeal to Armenia’s Constitutional Court to challenge the results of the June 7 parliamentary elections, alleging both procedural and substantive violations.

Speaking to reporters, Galstyan said his party was one of two political groups that formally petitioned the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) to invalidate the election results.

According to Galstyan, the party submitted requests for vote recounts across Yerevan and in several other communities throughout the country. He argued that the CEC had approved an agenda containing only one item — the tabulation of election results — and lacked authority to adopt subsequent decisions.

“If something is not included on the agenda, no action outside that agenda can be taken during the session. The agenda should have been properly approved,” Galstyan said.

He contended that the commission failed to conduct a full administrative review of the complaints. During the consideration of the appeals, he said, there was no question-and-answer process, commissioners did not pose questions to applicants and the body ultimately adopted a decision that he claimed is not envisaged by Armenia’s Electoral Code.

Galstyan also argued that a subsequent decision on the allocation of parliament seats fell outside the approved agenda and was therefore procedurally invalid.

“We will apply to the Constitutional Court and challenge the election results. We will raise all substantive and procedural issues,” he noted.

Galstyan said his party seeks to have the election results declared entirely invalid, arguing that the vote was conducted under noncompetitive conditions and that voters were subjected to unlawful influence.

“We hope that the Constitutional Court will demonstrate the necessary resolve and issue a decision based on the law and the evidence presented,” he said.