A total of 263 people have been detained in proceedings launched over alleged election-related crimes, according to statistics released by the Anti-Corruption Committee.

As reported by Factor.am , the names of the Strong Armenia alliance, the Hayastan alliance, and the Prosperous Armenia party appeared almost daily in the Committee’s statements during the election campaign. The Committee reported 199 criminal proceedings, 81 defendants, and 193 cases involving individuals referred to court.

“In total, 263 people have been detained in nearly 200 criminal proceedings. Public criminal prosecution has been initiated against 287 individuals. Custodial preventive measures, including detention and house arrest, have been imposed on 121 people, while 145 others have been subjected to alternative preventive measures,” said Anti-Corruption Committee Deputy Chair Armen Asatryan.

Of the cases referred to court, 36 concerned the Strong Armenia alliance, 15 involved the Prosperous Armenia party, 4 related to the Hayastan alliance, and 1 concerned the Wings of Unity party. These figures continued to rise almost every day.

“For example, in one case we found $10,000 on an individual. In another, we discovered several million. The money was found inside a vehicle. The individual had fled, leaving the vehicle behind. It was secured through the appropriate procedural steps, a court-authorized search was conducted in the presence of a representative, and the money was discovered. Lists were also found,” Asatryan said while describing several episodes from the criminal investigations.

Representatives of opposition political forces have continued to argue that the audio recordings published alongside the Committee’s statements were edited and released on the direct instructions of the authorities.

“Twenty-one percent of our compatriots, after listening to those recordings, did not cast their votes for opposition political forces. If you take one minute to listen to those recordings, you will see that this is not about prevention. There is targeting, unnecessary emphasis, deliberate framing, and interference in political activity,” Aram Vardevanyan, representing the Strong Armenia alliance, said during Constitutional Court hearings on challenges to the election results.

The Committee rejected those accusations, insisting that it operates independently and that mentioning political parties in its statements served a preventive, not a targeting, purpose.

“Many people abandon previously reached agreements regarding alleged corruption-related offenses after listening to the Anti-Corruption Committee’s recordings,” Armen Asatryan said.

Questions have also been raised about why no criminal proceedings were initiated against representatives of the ruling political force. Examples cited included Tavros Sapeyan, the Civil Contract mayor of Talin, who distributed more than 11.5 million drams in assistance to local residents during the campaign period, and Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan, who gave a camera as a gift to a young girl.

“It has absolutely nothing to do with the election campaign, and this took place a year and a half ago,” Avinyan said during the campaign.

In contrast, the Committee concluded that the case involving Gohar Ghumashyan, a parliamentary candidate from the Strong Armenia alliance, was connected to the campaign. The agency released an audio recording in which, according to the Committee, she promised to give a television set to a voter.

“It was a birthday gift I had promised last year, but I still have not given it,” Ghumashyan said.

Addressing questions about why Ghumashyan became a defendant while Sapeyan and Avinyan did not, the law enforcement agency said no relevant criminal proceeding had been initiated in those cases and that no appeal had been filed against the procedural decision.

“There is a corresponding procedural act, and it was not appealed. That means the party accepted the factual findings as well as the legal justification and reasoning contained in that act,” the Anti-Corruption Committee’s deputy chair said.

It remains unclear whether Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan will ask the newly elected ninth-term National Assembly to strip any opposition lawmaker of parliamentary immunity. The parliament is scheduled to hold its inaugural session on August 2.