Armenia’s opposition reportedly planning to bus in voters from Russia for parliamentary election

A prominent election observation group in Armenia, Independent Observer, has warned that an unnamed political opposition party has reportedly booked a large number of buses to transport voters, primarily from Russia, for the parliamentary elections scheduled for 7 June.

Daniel Ioannisyan, a member of the observation group, announced the news in a Facebook post on Wednesday, without specifying which party he was referring to.

The ‘terrifyingly large number’ buses and minibuses, according to him, have mainly been booked ‘for the end of May–beginning of June’, by representatives of one political force ‘to welcome and transport voters coming from abroad (mainly from Russia)’.

‘If these actions proceed according to the scenario indicated by the information we have, they will contain elements of acts prohibited by the criminal code and must be prevented by law enforcement’, Ioannisyan wrote.

In general, Ioannisyan told OC Media that providing services to voters is prohibited by the Armenian criminal code, but there are some nuances.

‘When that service is just bringing someone from their home to the polling station, we say, okay […] it is not a big deal. But when that service involves buying a ticket from another country and such, it falls under the law’s provision’, Ioannisyan said.

A day earlier, Armenia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS) announced that it had detected signs of possible foreign interference ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections.

The FIS said Armenians living abroad have reportedly been pressured to back certain political parties, without specifying the country behind the alleged interference.

Shortly after, Armenian authorities launched an investigation into the issue.

Citing the announcement from the FIS, Ioannisyan added that their observation group also had ‘credible information’ about coercion against Armenian businesspeople. Unlike the FIS, Ioannisyan specifically named Russia as the country involved in the coercion.

He also noted that Independent Observer had filed a criminal report with the Prosecutor General’s Office under the criminal code on forcing contributions to political parties.

The ruling Civil Contract party’s main opponent in the upcoming elections is believed to be Russian–Armenian tycoon Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia party.

According to the International Republican Institute (IRI) latest survey, 20% of respondents chose Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as the most trustworthy political figure in Armenia, followed by Karapetyan at 10%.

Karapetyan, who is currently under house arrest, was detained in June 2025 after making public statements siding with the Armenian Apostolic Church amid its confrontation with Pashinyan’s government. While under arrest, Karapetyan announced his entry into politics.

Other main candidates declaring their participation in the elections include  former president Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance, the largest opposition faction in the current Armenian Parliament, as well as tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of the Prosperous Armenia party, who has vowed to build a political ‘Noah’s Ark’.

The former ruling Republican Party and its leader, former president Serzh Sargsyan, ousted during the 2018 Velvet Revolution, have yet to declare their decision regarding their participation in the elections.

Civil Contract, which vowed to secure a constitutional majority in the elections, also warned that the opposition intends to come to power through a coalition formed after the vote.