Pashinyan accuses opposition blocs of vote-buying and says justice system must give answers
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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday accused the main opposition forces that won seats in the June 7 parliamentary elections of vote-buying and suggested that none of them, which he refers to collectively as the “tripartite war party,” would have entered parliament without bribery.
Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party received 49.825% of the vote, while Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia Alliance secured 23.281%, and former president Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance received 9.934%.
Business tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia Party is very close to the 4% electoral threshold, having secured 3.996% of the vote according to preliminary results. A recount is currently underway ahead of the final results announcement on June 14.
Pashinyan has referred to the Strong Armenia Alliance, the Armenia Alliance, and the Prosperous Armenia Party as the “tripartite war party,” arguing that their victory in the June 7 polls would have triggered a new war.
Responding to a journalist’s question on whether there is any mechanism for assessing how cases of vote-buying by political forces may have affected the election results, Pashinyan said:
“Regarding the tripartite war party, none of them would have passed the parliamentary threshold without vote-buying,” Pashinyan said.
The Prime Minister stated that the criminal justice system, including judicial and law enforcement bodies, also bears responsibility for what has happened.
“The criminal justice system also bears responsibility for what has happened here, because those who engaged in vote-buying in previous elections are not only not in prison, but have also continued their activities in this process,” he noted.
“The criminal justice system must provide answers to the public, and the public must receive a clear explanation of why it funds the criminal justice system if criminals continue not only to walk freely on the streets but also to continue their criminal activities. I will obtain answers to these questions,” Pashinyan concluded.