Prosperous Armenia member calls elections 'illegitimate', accuses authorities of stealing its votes

Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) member Arman Abovyan on Wednesday denounced Armenia's June 7 parliamentary elections as "illegitimate" and accused the authorities of stealing votes from his party, which narrowly failed to cross the electoral threshold to enter parliament.

Speaking outside the Investigative Committee, Abovyan also mocked Central Electoral Commission Chairman Vahagn Hovakimyan, questioning his credibility.

"Unfortunately, I don't understand much about painting or art, but I do know that Hovakimyan is a bad painter," Abovyan said. "These were illegitimate, thuggish, rigged elections. The irony is that if you look closely at Vahagn Hovakimyan's face and demeanor while he speaks, he's trying to sound convincing. I actually feel sorry for him. He's simply doing what he's been told."

Abovyan claimed that Armenian voters had rejected the ruling Civil Contract party in the 2026 elections but stated that the government manipulated the results by taking votes away from Prosperous Armenia.