Three opposition political parties in Armenia have cried foul for not being allowed to stage a joint rally in the town of Ararat on October 3, in the lead up to a major rally in Yerevan a week later.

In a signed statement issued today, the HAK (Armenian National Assembly), the BHK (Prosperous Armenia Party) and the Heritage Party, claim that the Ararat Municipality rejected their application for a rally on baseless grounds.

The three parties have recently held similar rallies in various Armenian provincial towns like Kapan and Sisian.

The opposition says they took the matter to court, but that their appeal was rejected on the argument that their application documents contained inaccuracies.

The parties countered by stating that the municipality was obliged by law to bring such inaccuracies to their attention within a specific timeframe.

Photo: Levon Ter-Petyrosyan (HAK), Gagik Tsarukyan (BHK), Raffi Hovannisian (Heritage)