An opposition alliance has asked authorities to look into some alleged evidence suggesting that vote buying by Armenia’s ruling party during municipal elections in Yerevan earlier this month had a “systematized and centralized” nature.
Head of the parliamentary faction of the opposition Yelk alliance Nikol Pashinian on Wednesday enclosed with the application to the prosecutor-general some documents that were found in the garbage can near one of the campaign offices of the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). (Hence, the documents in Armenia are known as ZibiLeaks).
The documents in question, Yelk says, mention the sums of money and services rendered in concrete addresses as well as instructions for campaigners for the organization of the process of distributing money among citizens.
According to the opposition bloc, police were also involved in this process, as one of the documents was faxed from a telephone number belonging to the police.
Yelk MP Edmon Marukian said that they will be consistent in ensuring that prosecutors open proceedings into the case and punish those responsible.
“We have collected this evidence and have vowed to be consistent,” he said.
Yelk polled 21 percent in the May 14 municipal elections and will form the second largest faction in Yerevan’s Council of Elders. The HHK swept the elections with over 71 percent and its top candidate Taron Markarian retained his mayoral position.
The HHK has all along denied it ever offered cash or services to voters.