By Lia Avagyan
Armenia’s law enforcement on Wednesday arrested Arsen Gevorgyan, the opposition Strong Armenia party's mayoral candidate in the northern town of Stepanavan alongside 13 other individuals on vote-buying charges.
The arrests came four days before a local election.
Gevorgyan is accused of bribing several dozen voters. Investigators said Gevorgyan had planned to bribe around 30 more people.
Stepanavan's council elections are set for Sunday. In addition to Strong Armenia, the ruling Civil Contract party, as well as minor Republic and Gortsarar parties, are also on the ballot.
Fired over the "wrong" vote?
The arrests came a day after Radio Free Europe’s Armenian Service reported that several Stepanavan residents said they had recently lost their jobs for supporting Strong Armenia.
Following up on the allegations, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan invited candidates and voters facing illegal pressure in the local elections to report this by emailing him directly. He added that he had instructed the labor inspectorate to investigate the cases and punish those responsible. Pashinyan later urged people to vote against anyone using illegal leverage in the elections, and then to protest. In a livestream on his Facebook, Pashinyan said he had received three letters and forwarded them to the relevant agencies.
Later in the day, Pashinyan published explanations from the managers of the dismissed employees. In doing so, he dismissed claims of political persecution, effectively asserting that the employees were let go over their own failings rather than their political views.
In Armenia's parliamentary elections held in June, hundreds of Strong Armenia members and supporters were arrested on vote-buying charges. The party, led by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, has rejected the accusations as politically motivated.
Stories
