Armenia Detains 14 People for Alleged Election Bribery

Armenian authorities detained 14 individuals in Stepanavan on October 21, 2026, ahead of municipal council elections scheduled for October 25. Among those arrested was Arsen Gevorgyan, a candidate for the Strong Armenia party.

The Anti-Corruption Committee stated that Gevorgyan and others allegedly offered electoral bribes to dozens of voters and planned to bribe more than 30 additional people to secure votes for the party. These arrests followed operations conducted by the National Security Service to gather factual evidence for the criminal proceedings.

Arega Hovsepyan, a lawmaker from the Strong Armenia faction, rejected the allegations, characterizing the arrests as a politically motivated crackdown. Hovsepyan described the actions of the authorities as a manifestation of fear.