According to figures supplied by the Central Election Commission, 51.5% of eligible voters had cast their ballots as of 5pm local time. Polls will close at 8pm.
The woman in the photo holding a bunch of papers alleged to be a copy of the local voting rolls is Marineh Hakobyan. For most of the day she has been seen strolling around outside the polling station and sometimes popping inside asking about the voting numbers.
When this Hetq reporter entered to speak to the party proxies, Margaryan approached some of the women proxies and said, “Look here girls, all is normal here”.
A female reporter for Radio Liberty, Elina Chilingaryan, says that one of a group of young men outside the Erebuni 12/33 polling station attacked her as she was taking pictures.
“They are bringing people in groups and telling them who to vote for. Naturally the organizers are instructing people to vote for the ruling Republican Party,” said Karapetyan.
During the eight hours since pools opened inArmeniaat 8am, the Human Rights Defender’s Office has received 151 calls via its election hotline.
Escorted by family members, included his son (photo), Sargsyan said that the government had put in place all necessary measures to ensure that these elections would take place in an atmosphere of legality.
One woman complained that she had been waiting for 10 minutes and that the hall wasn’t big enough. A fellow voter said the long lines were a positive sign that the turnout was heavy.
Armenia’s Human Rights Defender’s Office reports that it has received 137 calls regarding election violations and other infractions during the period 8am to noon.
The umbrella election monitoring body, comprised of the ANC, Prosperous Armenia and ARF, has released a statement calling on government agencies and international observers to focus their attention on the widespread problem of disappearing ink stamps registered in passports of those who have already cast ballots.
Reports from the 30/27 polling station in Vanadzor say that the ink being used to stamp passports after voting is also disappearing a mere three hours later.
Heritage Party MP Anahit Bakhshyan filed a report earlier today with the Prosecutor General that the mayor of Karbi village was interfering with the work of the local election committee.
Some voters at the 21/15 polling station in Armavir Marz have launched a protest vote for Mkhoyan, a candidate that was intimidated into pulling out of the race for parliament.
The latest such report is from Vladimir Karapetyan, an Armenian National Congress candidate from Election District 2.
At 8:30 today, Prosperous Armenia Party election proxies called the RA Prosecutor General’s Office, claiming that Spartak Ghoukasyan, the son of the Gyumri mayor (photo) snatched a video camera from a member of Kentron TV at polling station 34/25.
Earlier this morning, Gohar Veziryan, a candidate running for parliament in Election District 12, filed a report with the General Prosecutor’s Office that 10,000 AMD bribes were being handed in favour of her opponent Lyova Khachatryan.
Hetq has been informed that the ink stamp used on passports of citizens who have voted, is “mysteriously disappearing” even before they leave the 6/01 polling station in Yerevan’s Ajapnyak district.
Polling stations opened at 8am in Armenia for today’s parliamentary election. They will close at 8pm.
It seems that the Rule of Law party, a junior coalition member, had no use for this law. Hetq received word that bribes, in the form of cell phones, were being distributed by the party in the Sarahart neighbourhood in the northern town of Alaverdi at around 7pm.
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