The authorities of the Republic of Armenia will simply not try to rig the upcoming snap parliamentary elections. The Minister of Justice, Rustam Badasyan, stated this at Wednesday’s sitting of the National Assembly, commenting on the respective concerns expressed by Srbuhi Grigoryan, an MP of the opposition Bright Armenia Party.

The minister, in particular, asked why the authorities should rig the elections at all. "I believe that after 2018, it is impossible to turn that ‘wheel’ back, as it is impossible to distort the will of the citizens in any way. Appropriate legislative initiatives have been developed to effectively detect electoral crimes. All the mechanisms are defined by the Electoral Code," Badasyan stressed.

In response, Grigoryan said that there is a view in the country that the upcoming elections may be quite tense and that cases of violence are not ruled out. "What will the government do with all this?," she asked.

The minister, however, did not share the concerns expressed by the lawmaker. "If there are cases of violence [during the elections], the police of Armenia will investigate with all severity all those incidents," Rustam Badasyan assured.