June 5, 2026 - 15:14 AMT
Forty people face trial in election cases

Since February 7, when the process for the regular parliamentary elections began, prosecutors have submitted 13 criminal cases involving election-related offenses and 40 individuals to the competent courts with approved indictments.

As of June 5, prosecutors from the Department for Supervision of Legality in Pre-Trial Proceedings at the Anti-Corruption Committee under the Prosecutor General’s Office had referred eight criminal cases involving 31 individuals to court.

These include:

  • One criminal case involving one person accused of two counts of vote-buying and two individuals accused of accepting election bribes.
  • One criminal case involving five individuals accused of vote-buying, violating the ban on charitable activities during the election period, and accepting election bribes.
  • One criminal case involving two individuals accused of violating the ban on charitable activities and aiding that violation.
  • One criminal case involving one individual accused of vote-buying and two counts of materially incentivizing participation in a rally, and one individual accused of accepting election bribes as part of a group.
  • One criminal case involving three individuals accused of obstructing the exercise of electoral rights, as well as attempting and preparing such offenses.
  • One criminal case involving two individuals accused of vote-buying, five accused of assisting vote-buying, and six accused of accepting election bribes.
  • One criminal case involving one individual accused of accepting election bribes.
  • One criminal case involving two individuals accused of vote-buying.

As of June 5, 2026, prosecutors had also referred to court five criminal cases investigated by the Investigative Committee involving nine individuals accused of election-related crimes.

These include:

  • One criminal case involving two individuals accused of obstructing the free exercise of electoral rights through threats of violence committed by a group acting in prior agreement.
  • One criminal case involving one individual accused of materially incentivizing participation in a rally.
  • One criminal case involving one individual accused of coercing participation in a rally through blackmail while using influence derived from official authority.
  • One criminal case involving one individual accused of coercing participation in a rally through blackmail.
  • One criminal case involving four individuals accused of materially incentivizing participation in a rally and organizing such incentives.

The election campaign, which began on May 8, continued through June 5. June 6 is designated as a day of silence, while voting will take place on June 7. On May 25, the Alliance Progressive Centrist Party submitted a withdrawal request, after which the Central Electoral Commission invalidated the registration of the party’s electoral list. As a result, ballot paper number 13 will not appear in the upcoming elections.