Former Ombudsman’s controversial allegations spark legal battle with Armenia’s ruling party

Vahagn Aleksanyan, a member of the Civil Contract board and a Member of Parliament, announced on social media that the party intends to take legal action against Armenia's former ombudsman, Arman Tatoyan.

According to Aleksanyan, the Civil Contract party plans to file a lawsuit in response to Tatoyan’s claims, which have been widely circulated in the media, Caliber.Az reports via Armenian media. 

Tatoyan allegedly accused the ruling party of coercing voters into photographing their ballots to prove they had cast their votes in favor of the party. This statement, which Tatoyan made on social media, has since been reprinted by several outlets.

“The Civil Contract party will seek justice in court in relation to the defamatory remarks made by Arman Tatoyan and propagated by certain media, which suggest that ‘the party forces voters to take pictures of their ballots,’” Aleksanyan wrote on social media, adding that the allegations were baseless and malicious.

In addition to legal action, Civil Contract has announced plans to appeal to the Central Election Commission (CEC) regarding alleged violations of Armenia’s “day of silence,” a regulation that prohibits political campaigning and any form of election-related activities in the final hours before an election. The party specifically mentioned Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and other individuals connected to the opposition factions of ex-presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, implying that they had engaged in activities in violation of this legal provision.

Tatoyan’s remarks have stirred controversy in Armenian political circles. The former ombudsman claimed that there was a widespread occurrence of individuals being encouraged to photograph their ballots, an act that, according to Tatoyan, constitutes a criminal offense. "This offense implies criminal responsibility. The Civil Contract pushes you to a crime, in no case do not do it," he warned voters on social media.

By Vafa Guliyeva