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During the RA NA elections of April 2, 2017, the representative of ‘Independent Observer’ Alliance at polling station № 20/53 in Gegharkunik marz (region) recorded that a stranger accompanied a group of servicemen to the voting room and for some time stayed there and then in the area around the polling station.

The observer first demanded that the incident was reported in the register of the polling station and then asked the said person out 3 times with the help of the police.

According to the observer, the stranger and another person who entered the polling station after him made some notes and called out the servicemen’s names.

On the same day, ‘Independent Observer’ Alliance member HCA Vanadzor filed a crime report. But by his decision of April 11, 2017, G. Avetisyan, Senior Investigator at 5th Garrison Investigative Division of the General Military Investigation Department, RA Investigative Committee, rejected initiation of criminal proceedings for lack of elements of crime. Moreover, the decision stated that in not a single case did the servicemen or the commanders accompanying them violate the exercise of the right to vote or voters’ free expression of their will or obstruct the activity of the commission or violate the secret of vote.

However, the contents of the decision make it clear that the persons at the polling station at the moment, who were questioned, do not deny that a person in military uniform stayed at the voting room for quite a long time and sat next to the polling station commission members, though he was not entitled to do so. This is also evidenced by the photos attached to the crime report which clearly show the person accompanying the servicemen. Nevertheless, the investigator ignored that fact and found that no right was violated and no criminal offence was committed.

Considering the facts that the above questioning did not deny the existence of an offence and that all the circumstances of the case might be established only through initiating criminal proceedings and conducting a proper investigation, HCA Vanadzor applied to the RA Prosecutor General’s Office.

In his decision on HCA Vanadzor’s complaint, V. Harutyunyan, RA Military Prosecutor, noted that the actions to find out the data of the person who visited the polling station gave no results and it was impossible to establish his identity. And by saying this, he “provided grounds” that the investigative body showed sufficient diligence in conducting a thorough, impartial and comprehensive investigation. Then he argued that the allegations on obstructing the commission’s activities, expression of voters’ will or secret of vote were not confirmed in the explanations and based on such grounds he rejected the complaint by upholding the decision on rejecting initiation of criminal proceedings.

HCA Vanadzor will appeal the investigator’s decision on rejecting to initiate criminal proceedings before a court of law as well.