Observer Mission Finds Campaign Finance Discrepancies

1 NOV 2025 09:46

According to the latest amendments to the RA Electoral Code, from the end of the registration period for forces participating in elections until the third day following the voting, banks are required to submit data to the Corruption Prevention Commission (CPC) every 3 working days regarding the account balances, inflows, and outflows of the participating parties. The CPC summarizes this data, prepares a report, and publishes it on its website. Simultaneously, the CEC's oversight and audit service summarizes the data on the financial inflows and outflows of the pre-election funds of the participating parties and alliances, prepares a summary report, which is posted on the CEC's website. "As a result of comparing these two reports, we see discrepancies between the outflows from the party's bank account and the inflows into the campaign fund," alarms the "Akanates" (Eyewitness) observation mission in a statement it released on the matter. "However, such discrepancies should not exist, as according to the latest amendments to the Electoral Code, transfers to pre-election funds can only be made from the party's bank accounts. Thus:

As of October 27, according to the CPC report, there was an outflow of 10 million AMD from the "Civil Contract" party's account to the pre-election fund account, whereas the CEC report on the fund shows no inflows or expenses. This case is particularly concerning because during the campaign, which started on October 22, we have recorded numerous campaign events by the "Civil Contract" party, and the Electoral Code obliges that campaign-related expenses be carried out only at the expense of the pre-election fund.
As of October 22, the CPC report on the "Republic" party's bank account showed an inflow of 0 AMD, an outflow of 67,705 AMD, and a balance of about 4 million AMD. However, the CEC's oversight and audit service report indicated an inflow of 1 million AMD into the pre-election fund. The CPC report was later updated, and the 1 million AMD outflow from the party's account was added.
As of October 27, the CPC report on the "Hayrenik" (Homeland) party's bank account recorded no outflows from the party's account, while the CEC's oversight and audit service reports indicated an inflow of 1 million AMD into the pre-election fund.
As of October 22 and 27, the reports on the "Heritage" party's bank account lacked data on the party's financial flows, while the CEC's oversight and audit service report showed inflows into the pre-election fund.
As of October 27, according to the CEC's oversight and audit service report, 16,320,000 AMD was deposited into the "Haghtanak" (Victory) alliance's pre-election fund. The alliance is composed of the ARF and "Arraj" parties, therefore, contributions to the alliance's pre-election fund can only be made from the accounts of these parties. However, in the CPC reports of October 22 and 27, the total outflow from the ARF and "Arraj" parties was only 13 million AMD," the "Akanates" report states in particular.