Armenia’s police denies there are additional electoral lists and says all inaccuracies removed

YEREVAN, February 18. /ARKA/. All voters in Armenia are included in the electoral register and personal information about each constituent is entered into the register just once, Hovhannes Kocharyan, who is in charge of Police visa and passport department, assured today.

A post was made on presidential candidate Raffi Hovannisian’s Facebook page today that the campaign headquarter of the incumbent president and candidate Serzh Sargsyan uses additional electoral lists at the capital’s polling stations. 

The post specifically signals the names of the voters appearing in the additional lists are not excluded fr om the general electoral sheet which lists their residence addresses, thus “a legal framework is built for the second-time voting.” 

According to Kocharyan, as of February 17, the number of citizens listed in the register accounted to 2 million 505 thousand 980.

“Also, the names of 14, 285 voters entered into the general register are temporarily removed fr om the sheet that lists their residence addresses and included into the additional lists of those polling stations wh ere they went to vote,” he said. 

Moreover, Kocharyan said 502 voters, who had no residence registration in Armenia, are included into an additional electoral sheet of a nearby polling station.

“Besides, 1,719 names of  policemen are also removed from the sheet listing their residence address and listed in the sheet of the polling station wh ere they are appointed to monitor the elections. Another 1,628 people who are currently undergoing a treatment in medical facilities are listed in the electoral sheets of those medical facilities,” he added.

Kocharyan informed his office reviewed  4,018 signals on inaccuracies in polling stations from January 9 to February 13, and of them 1,928 were received during the Police investigation, 2,090—from other parties of the polling process.

“Total of 19 amendments were enacted to remove those inaccuracies in the lists. Names of 2,028 dead citizens were also removed from the lists,” he highlighted. 

Seven contenders are running for the country’s president today: incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan, former prime minister and leader of Freedom party Hrant Bagratyan, former foreign minister and leader of Heritage party Raffi Hovannisian, well-known Soviet dissident and leader of Union for National Self-Determination party Paruyr Hayrikyan, ex foreign minister of Karabakh Arman Melikyan, political scientist and head of Radio Hay Andrias Ghukasyan and specialist in epic studies Vardan Sedrakyan. –0—