The CEC refused to consider the Prosecutor's request to prosecute Narek Karapetyan.

The Central Election Commission of Armenia returned to the Prosecutor's Office the request to initiate criminal proceedings against Narek Karapetyan, who heads the electoral list of the "Strong Armenia" bloc, as well as against four other candidates from the bloc. The decision was made because the powers of the candidates for deputies expired on July 4.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", the court arrested for two months the leader of the party "Prosperous Armenia", billionaire Gagik Tsarukyan, who is accused of fraud and tax evasion. The "Strong Armenia" bloc will take mandates and work in parliament, as the absence of a constitutional majority for the ruling party will allow blocking a number of decisions, said the first candidate on the bloc's list, Narek Karapetyan.

The CEC of Armenia decided on July 8 to return to the Prosecutor's Office the request to initiate criminal proceedings against Narek Karapetyan, who heads the electoral list of the "Strong Armenia" bloc, and to deprive him of his freedom, writes News.Am.

According to the Electoral Code, the rights and obligations established for candidates for deputies apply to the candidate until the expiration of the period set for appealing the CEC's decision on election to the National Assembly, and in case of appealing this decision - until the Constitutional Court makes a decision. The rights and obligations provided by the Electoral Code applied to the candidate until July 4, 2026. The CEC is not authorized to give consent to initiate criminal proceedings or to deprive freedom of a person who does not have the status of a candidate for deputies, the commission explained.

Similar decisions were made regarding other candidates, in particular the already arrested leader of "Prosperous Armenia" Gagik Tsarukyan. The request regarding the candidate from "Strong Armenia" Levon Nalbandyan concerned criminal prosecution. Regarding Aik Avakyan, Mger Agamyan, and Sasun Badoyan, candidates for deputies from the same bloc, the Prosecutor General's Office requested consent for criminal prosecution and deprivation of freedom. The commission did not consider them due to the high workload related to the appeal of the election results in the Constitutional Court, writes Armenia Today.

It should be noted that earlier analysts pointed out that the "Prosperous Armenia" party, the "Armenia" bloc of former president Robert Kocharyan, and the "Strong Armenia" bloc of entrepreneur Samvel Karapetyan are the most pro-Russian participants in the parliamentary elections in Armenia.