Central Electoral Commission Chief: No Violations Affecting Election Results

YEREVAN — Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC) Chairman Vahagn Hovakimyan stated that no violations occurred during the June 7 parliamentary elections that could have affected the outcome.

Speaking to reporters, Hovakimyan also expressed support for conducting recounts at all polling stations.

“We are in a situation where a political force’s ability to cross the electoral threshold could be determined by only a few votes. Therefore, we need the most accurate picture possible,” he said.

According to preliminary results from all 2,005 polling stations, 1,477,736 voters participated in the election, representing a turnout of 58.94 percent.

The preliminary vote totals were as follows:

• Civil Contract Party – 727,160 votes (49.825%)
• Strong Armenia Alliance – 340,088 votes (23.281%)
• Armenia Alliance – 145,113 votes (9.934%)
• Prosperous Armenia Party – 58,378 votes (3.996%)

Hovakimyan explained that the discrepancy regarding Prosperous Armenia’s vote share resulted from the fact that electronic voting results were not initially included in the online system and because percentages displayed on the website were rounded.

“In this case, even a single vote can be decisive for a political force that is very close to the threshold. I would remind everyone that these are preliminary results. We still have a verification and recount phase ahead. Every effort must be made to ensure that the final figures reflect the will of Armenia’s voters with the highest possible accuracy,” he said.

He reiterated that no election-day violations were recorded that could have influenced the final outcome and again expressed support for a full recount of votes nationwide.