Your trusted source

The opposition “Yerkir Tsirani” (Land of Apricot) party filed an appeal to Tigran Mukuchyan, Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), demanding that the May 4 Yerevan City Council election results be declared invalid, reads the release issued by the party press service.

In the appeal the party referred to what it called ‘widespread electoral fraud’ registered by the representatives of the political force on the election day, specifically, ‘cases of voter buying’, ‘guiding voters’, ‘opening and movement of drawers’ in the polling stations, ‘violence against the party mayoral candidate Zaruhi Postanjyan and her daughter’, who acted as her deputed person.

To remind, on May 14 the ruling Republican Party headed by acting mayor Taron Margaryan won 240,036 votes (71.25%) at Yerevan City Council elections, according to the preliminary results of the Central Electoral Commission.  “Elq” Bloc headed by MP Nikol Pashinyan scored 70,731 votes (21%) and “Yerkir Tsirani” (Land of Apricot) Party received 26,109 votes (7,75 %).

On the election day Postanjyan accompanied by number of her supporters and journalists broke into one the ruling RPA campaign offices, demanding to open the drawer where, as she alleged, evidence of electoral fraud was kept. Postanjyan and her supporters were later removed from the office by the police, that arrived in the scene.

Police officers were later accused for using disproportionate force against the mayoral candidate, while the law enforcement defended its actions referring to the refusal of Postanjyan to carry out lawful order of the law enforcement.

The appeal, sent by “Yerkir Tsirani” party, insists that the electoral offences recorded on the election day changed the outcome of the election results, thus asking the CEC to annul them.