Armenian authorities have detained 10 more people in a vote-buying investigation involving the opposition Strong Armenia party, just two days before local elections in the northern town of Stepanavan.
According to Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee, as reported by News.am, 24 people now face charges over allegations of electoral bribery. Local elections in Stepanavan, in the northern province of Lori, are scheduled for 25 October.
The latest arrests follow police searches at Strong Armenia’s Stepanavan office on 21 October, during which 14 people were detained. The Investigative Committee accused party candidates and their associates of offering bribes to dozens of voters in return for electoral support. It also released covertly recorded footage that it said supported the allegations.
On Thursday, the Anti-Corruption Court ordered Strong Armenia’s candidate for Stepanavan mayor, Arsen Gevorgyan, to remain in pre-trial detention for two months. Of the 14 people initially detained, 10, including Gevorgyan and five municipal council candidates, have been remanded in custody or placed under house arrest.
Strong Armenia MP Anshanik Gevorgyan described the authorities’ actions as “beyond reason”.
Daniel Ioannisyan of the civil society group Union of Informed Citizens accused members of the ruling Civil Contract party of seeking to win elections without competition by exploiting administrative powers.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan did not directly respond to the criticism but urged voters to reject candidates using pressure, threats or electoral bribes. He also called on the public to report any such incidents to him or law enforcement agencies.
Stepanavan is one of the few communities where Strong Armenia, the largest opposition party in parliament, is fielding a candidate in the current round of local elections.
Strong Armenia is led by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, whose supporters established the party in January 2026. The party secured just over 23 per cent of the vote in June’s parliamentary election, finishing second behind Pashinyan’s Civil Contract.
Karapetyan was arrested in June 2025 on charges of publicly calling for the usurpation of power after accusing the government of campaigning against the Armenian Apostolic Church. He had pledged to intervene “in his own way” to stop it, remarks the authorities interpreted as a threat. He was later transferred from prison to house arrest.
Karapetyan denies wrongdoing, while his lawyers maintain that the criminal proceedings are unlawful. His lawyer, Lianna Gasparyan, has argued that the alleged offence is punishable only by a fine and community service under Armenia’s criminal code, meaning the decision to seek pre-trial detention “shows that the whole process is unlawful”.
The government denies targeting the church. Pashinyan has accused Catholicos Karekin II and other senior clergy of violating their vows of celibacy and called for the election of a new church leader, arguing that the measures are necessary for national security.
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