The Parliament resulting from the 2026 parliamentary elections was not formed in accordance with the requirements of the Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia

The Parliament resulting from the 2026 parliamentary elections was not formed in accordance with the requirements of the Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia. This assessment is based not only on the serious human rights violations documented during the pre-election period, the selective application of criminal prosecution, and the abuse of administrative resources, but, above all, on the decisions adopted by the Central Electoral Commission on 14 June 2026 and by the Constitutional Court on 4 July 2026. These decisions directly contradict the requirements of the Electoral Code and fundamentally alter the composition of the legislature by entrenching the near-unchecked dominance of a single political party, rather than reflecting the will of the electorate.

The conduct of law enforcement authorities in responding to alleged electoral violations during both the pre-election and post-election periods was selective and discriminatory. Although there was clear and credible evidence of comparable electoral violations committed in support of the ruling authorities, the activities of the Anti-Corruption Committee were directed exclusively against representatives and supporters of opposition political forces. Details and reasoning is available in the full Statement.

Under criterion (d) of the definition of a political prisoner adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Resolution 1900 (2012), a person is considered a political prisoner where deprivation of liberty has been imposed in a discriminatory manner, as compared with other persons, for political reasons. On this basis, and in light of the effective impunity enjoyed by supporters of the ruling authorities, the Armenian Center for Political Rights considers that all representatives and supporters of opposition political forces who have been deprived of their liberty as a result of selective criminal prosecutions related to the elections meet the definition of political prisoners.
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