CEC responds to reports of soldiers voting past 20:00

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Following reports that soldiers had continued to vote after the polling stations officially closed on Sunday at 20:00, the Central Election Commission (CEC) claimed that the situation was caused by the slow organisation of work at two polling stations.

CEC head Vahagn Hovakimyan said that soldiers in question had been queuing at the polling stations since or before Sunday at noon, waiting for their turn.

‘The issue that arose was whether to close the polling station doors to the military personnel and prevent them from exercising their right to vote, or to allow them inside’, Hovakimyan said. According to him, all those queuing were let into the polling stations before 20:00, after which they continued voting. Hovakimyan stated that he did not see an issue there.

According to voting regulations, those already present in voting precincts at the time the polls closed are still allowed to cast their votes, while the CEC bars others from entering the precinct. Gohar Meloyan, a candidate from the Strong Armenia alliance, claimed on Sunday that they had recorded voting ‘interventions’. She then showed footage of soldiers at precincts during the voting process. She also claimed that voting continued in such precincts after the polls closed.

Arshaluys Barseghyan •

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A journalist since 2016, Arshaluys specialises in fact-checking and open-source investigations, with a focus on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, politics, and social and gender issues. She is also a strong advocate for media literacy and closely follows Armenia’s media landscape.

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