STEPANAVAN — With only two days left before local elections, the Anti-Corruption Committee arrested ten additional individuals today in the northern Lori town of Stepanavan, bringing the total number of charged suspects in a massive electoral bribery probe to twenty-four people.

The fast-moving criminal investigation, which focuses on the offering, receiving, and facilitating of election bribes, has severely disrupted the campaign trail ahead of the October 25, 2026 proportional election for the Stepanavan Municipal Council.

The latest wave of arrests follows a sweeping law enforcement operation launched early on the morning of October 21, 2026. During those initial raids, authorities detained fourteen individuals, all of whom are candidates or supporters of the opposition Strong Armenia (Uzhegh Hayastan) party. Among them was Arsen Gevorgyan, the head of the party's electoral list, who has since been placed in pre-trial detention for a period of two months.

The Anti-Corruption Committee confirmed to Hetq that the preliminary investigation remains ongoing as investigators continue to comb through evidence.

The enforcement actions have cast a heavy shadow over Sunday's upcoming municipal election, where four political factions—the ruling Civil Contract party, Strong Armenia, Republic, and the Businessman party—are competing for control of the local municipal council.

Representatives from Strong Armenia have fiercely criticized the arrests. Throughout the campaign, the party has repeatedly accused the government of exploiting state administrative resources and conducting an aggressive campaign of political persecution against its members. Law enforcement officials have not yet publicly responded to the allegations of political bias.