YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. Authorities have launched criminal proceedings on vote buying, bribery, electoral violations and other alleged offenses concerning the opposition Prosperous Armenia (BHK) party.

According to the State Revenue Committee’s investigators, they’ve gathered sufficient evidence to believe that several employees of the Ararat Cement, the cement producing factory in the eponymous town, were forced to sign up and join to the Prosperous Armenia Party and were told to secure votes for the party during the 2012 and 2017 parliamentary elections or potentially be fired from their jobs. According to authorities the employees carried out the instructions and even compiled a list containing the names of the people who have agreed to vote for the BHK.

In addition, authorities said some employees of the factory bribed or offered other advantage to a number of residents of Ararat province in exchange of voting for BHK.

Criminal cases on multiple articles are initiated.

Authorities did not name any suspects.

The criminal cases have been forwarded to the General Prosecution for further proceedings.

Ararat Cement and the BHK are yet to comment on the allegations. 

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan