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Ministry of Internal Affairs officials have dismissed concerns over large numbers of registered individuals at single addresses, calling claims of potential electoral fraud misleading and inaccurate.
Nelly Davtyan, Head of the Migration and Citizenship Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in an interview with Armenpress, said it is unacceptable to exaggerate the issue of citizen registration and present it as a source of electoral fraud, stressing that such statements are misleading and do not correspond to reality.
Davtyan responded to a statement by Gohar Meloyan, a candidate from the “Strong Armenia” party, who claimed that more than 20 people were registered at numerous addresses in the electoral lists during the parliamentary elections on June 7.
Meloyan said that on election day they received numerous calls from voters reporting that unknown individuals were registered at their addresses. She said that 846 addresses were identified where more than 20 people were registered, and also noted cases where more than 100 individuals were registered at a single address. She claimed that this could be considered electoral fraud.
Responding to these claims, Davtyan said that the registration system had been widely explained by her office throughout the entire electoral process.
“This issue often leads to misleading statements. Let me reiterate that neither being registered nor being removed from registration constitutes a violation of electoral rights. Let me explain what this is about. In Armenia, since 2005, a system has been in place under which registration can be carried out through two procedures: based on actual residence or with the owner’s permission. This means that registration based on actual residence, recorded by a police report, is never changed unless either the property owner or the registered person applies to us. In other words, even if a person lived in a rented property for one month and was registered there, that registration remains until either the resident informs us or the owner requests their removal,” Davtyan said.
She emphasized that these registrations serve as a technical tool for compiling voter lists. A person who is not registered in Armenia can apply and be included in their preferred polling station, while a person registered at a given address can also change their polling station upon personal request.
Regarding the claim that more than 100 people were registered at over 800 addresses, Davtyan said that these are mainly care centers and similar institutions. At the same time, she stressed that there are no restrictions on how many people a property owner can register at a given address.
“Therefore, exaggerating this issue and presenting it as a source of electoral fraud is completely misinformation and is confusing and misleading,” Davtyan added.
She also noted that the registration procedure is planned to be revised, adding that she welcomes the public’s strong interest in the issue and that all concerns will be addressed.