The Armenian parliamentary election held in April took place amidst "large-scale abuse of administrative resources and other campaign-related electoral violations, especially vote bribing, Transparency International's Anticorruption Centre said in a report published in July. Vote bribing, participation of state and municipal officials in campaigning during work hours and that of educational staff in campaign activities were among the most frequent violations carried out during the electoral campaign, the report adds.

The result of this year's parliamentary election was particularly significant because, after Armenians voted to switch from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary form of governance in a 2015 referendum, the new legislative body will have more power than any of its predecessors. With slightly over 50% of the votes, the ruling Republican Party – President Serzh Sargsyan's party – won by a large margin, thus enshrining its grip on power that began in the late 1990s. 

Its victory was despite the fact that opposition parties came together to a greater extent compared to previous elections to challenge it at the polls. The campaign, election and post-election periods were marred by instances of politically-motivated violence and opposition parties' accusations of widespread electoral fraud against the ruling party.

Armenia is not new to election fraud. Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, most of the presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections in the country have involved various forms of proven or alleged ballot rigging or vote manipulation. Armenians were particularly incensed after the 2008 presidential election, when peaceful protesters took to the streets to complain about vote rigging. A violent crackdown by law enforcement resulted in 10 fatalities, 100 arrests, a media blackout and the institution of a state of emergency.

Consequently, the parliament rushed to pass a bill reforming the electoral code in 2016 in order to ensure greater transparency on the day of the election. However, Transparency International found that parties were creative in going around the new legal limitations, and sought to influence the popular vote through underhand means or by using state resources during the campaign period.

"These elections once more revealed that any improvement of electoral legislation is largely a futile effort if there is no political will to conduct free and fair elections," the report says. 

The organisation counted 90 instances of vote bribing, most of which were committed by the ruling Republican Party. Furthermore, in 59 cases, state and municipal officials participated in campaigning or were present at the headquarters of various campaigning parties during working hours. In 53 cases, educational staff were found to have been campaigning for parties during their working hours – once again, they did so primarily for the winning Republican Party.

In 38 instances, state money was used for small local projects (like asphalting streets and building playgrounds); the projects were then used for campaigning. Other violations included threats, intimidation and use of public resources like government vehicles for campaign purposes.