Paul Goble
Staunton, May 11 – Armenian officials say they won’t be setting up polling stations abroad for Armenians living there, although they will allow diplomats and military personnel on assignment there to vote, a decision likely to have profound consequences not only in the June parliamentary vote but beyond.
This decision was announced by Seda Gukasyan, press spokesperson for the Armenian Central Election Commission, who said that this decision was the result of changes in election law in that country first introduced in 2012 (vz.ru/news/2026/5/11/1417972.html and vz.ru/world/2026/5/11/1418037.html).
The Armenian diaspora not only is large but is more committed to the idea that their homeland must rely on Russia to defend it against Turkey and Azerbaijan while Armenians in Armenia and especially the government of Nikol Pashinyan believe Armenia’s future depends on ties with the EU rather than Russia and on cooperation with its Turkic neighbors.
Yerevan has not released figures on just how many Armenians abroad with the right to vote will find it more difficult to do so because they would have to travel to Armenia itself to exercise that right, but even if it is a relatively small share of all Armenians abroad, this restriction could tile the elections in favor of those who share Pashinyan’s views.
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