Five arrested in alleged election bribery scheme in Armenia

Five people have been arrested in Armenia today following a high-profile, joint anti-corruption sting that uncovered an organized election fraud network.

The sweeping operation—conducted as a collaborative effort between Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee and the National Security Service (NSS)—revealed a sophisticated vote-buying operation directly tied to the "Strong Armenia" political alliance, News.Az reports, citing Armenpress.

At the center of the conspiracy is a precinct election commission chairperson affiliated with the political bloc. Investigators state that the chairperson blatantly abused their official authority to rig the local oversight process. Instead of appointing neutral staff, the official deliberately handpicked commission members who explicitly agreed to participate in a pre-arranged bribery scheme.

According to law enforcement, these co-conspirators were paid off under a strict quid pro quo agreement: they received financial payouts in direct exchange for manipulating oversight duties and guaranteeing that a specific, predetermined number of local voters would cast their ballots in favor of the "Strong Armenia" party.

The anti-corruption sweep comes at a time of heightened scrutiny during the national parliamentary race, with federal agencies emphasizing a zero-tolerance policy for any attempts to compromise the integrity of the ballot box. All five suspects remain in custody as investigators work to determine the full scale of the operation.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada