The RA Criminal Code defines serious punishments for certain electoral violations. It defines up to 10 years of imprisonment. Aram Tamazyan, a deputy prosecutor-general mentioned that it is a result of amendments and in past the Criminal Code didn’t define such strict rules for the culprits. Armenia’s Office of the Prosecutor-General said that it has formed a unit tasked with preventing and reacting to possible instances of fraud in the upcoming presidential election. “I have reason to state that we are in a position to again swiftly react to and investigate reports of elections violations,” said Aram Tamazyan. Strict punishments are defined for incorrect counting of ballots or any other action, which mars the actual results of elections. Similar punishments are defined for those, who somehow interfere or interrupt the regular functioning of electoral commissions as well as the attempts of hindering the functioning of election observers, party or candidate proxies, media especially if it’s done by abusing the official rank or material interest or threat and violence. “It is criminally punitive to belie one of the candidates in order to disorient the voters about the candidate. The code is also very strict about double voting or violation of voting secrecy. Meanwhile the attempts of the media to belie one of the candidates are also subject to punishments. Those cases of humiliation and degradation of somebody’s reputation must be strictly punished,” said Tamazyan.
