PACE Report on Armenia’s Elections: Society Has Demonstrated Democratic Resilience Despite Shortcomings Observed and Unprecedented External Pressures

STRASBOURG  — A report by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Armenia’s June 7, 2026 parliamentary elections has been published. The report is dated September 22 and was prepared by PACE’s election observation delegation.

According to the election observation report presented today in plenary session by Damien Cottier (Switzerland, ALDE), the 7 June 2026 parliamentary elections in Armenia offered voters “a genuine choice among political alternatives in a well-run process”. The Armenian people have chosen the pro-European path and have demonstrated their democratic resilience despite the shortcomings observed and external pressures on an unprecedented scale, the PACE delegation said.

While emphasizing that the legal framework provided a sound basis for democratic elections, the delegation expressed concern regarding: the inadequate oversight of campaign financing; biased media coverage; the persistence of vote-buying; the misuse of administrative resources in campaigning; deficiencies in effective judicial remedy for violations; and the disenfranchisement of an opposition party’s electorate, with significant parliamentary consequences.

The PACE delegation proposed to the Armenian authorities a set of measures to address these shortcomings within the framework of the Assembly’s monitoring procedure and in close co-operation with the Venice Commission, calling for “urgent institutional and legal reforms”, and for strengthening the implementation of European democratic standards.