The opposition and activists in Armenia have reported pressure from the authorities.

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In recent days, security forces have conducted searches in the offices of the Strong Armenia and Prosperous Armenia parties and detained at least 15 people. Opposition representatives have accused the authorities of abuse of administrative resources and pressure. The mothers of the victims have made similar claims against the authorities.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," elections to the National Assembly of Armenia will be held on June 7. According to analysts, the parties of Samvel Karapetyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and former President Robert Kocharyan will become key competitors in the elections.

Samvel Karapetyan's "Strong Armenia", along with Robert Kocharyan's "Armenia" bloc and Gagik Tsarukyan's "Prosperous Armenia" party, is one of the most pro-Russian parties in the Armenian parliamentary elections. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report "2026 Elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia".

On June 1, searches were conducted at the Strong Armenia party office in the Ajapnyak district, News.am reports, citing data from the press service of the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia.

According to the committee, the investigation is being conducted as part of a criminal case involving the giving and receiving of election bribes. Eight people have been detained.

Party candidate Aram Vardevanyan stated that the authorities are abusing administrative resources. He added that they have appealed to the Central Election Commission regarding this matter, "which is showing total inaction." "No criminal cases have been opened, there is no statement from the Anti-Corruption Committee, no records. This is a manifestation of selective justice, and our compatriots are noticing it and drawing conclusions. We have initiated legal proceedings and will consistently act in this direction," ARKA quotes the politician as saying during a meeting with voters in the Arabkir administrative district.

On May 29, searches were also conducted at the Prosperous Armenia Party offices in Abovyan and Artik. According to the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia, seven people were detained in two criminal cases initiated for giving and receiving election bribes.

On June 1, relatives of the deceased servicemen also reported pressure from the authorities. Astghik Galeyan, the mother of Mkhitar Galeyan, who died during the 44-day war, reported that security officers prevented the elderly woman, who lost her son and grandson in the war, from speaking out during the ruling Civil Contract party's election campaign in Malatia-Sebastia.

Galeyan stated that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan instructed his security guards to isolate him from any parent of a fallen soldier or protesting citizen. "If this is an election campaign, you have to listen; if you listen to those who praise you, then you must also listen to those who criticize you and express dissatisfaction," she said.

Arus Harutyunyan, the widow of the deceased captain Ishkhan Petrosyan, said that many civil servants complain of coercion from the authorities, but in private conversations they insist that they will vote for the opposition forces at the polling stations.

She also spoke about the incident in Spitak, where security forces forcibly took away the grandfather of one of the fallen soldiers, gagging him.

Former Armenian Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan, who heads the proportional list of candidates for parliament from the Wings of Unity party, stated at a meeting with voters that Armenia needs a government that will not exert pressure on the judicial system, Armenia Today reports.

According to Tatoyan, there are judges who serve the authorities with particular zeal, thus trying to avoid punishment for actions they committed under the previous government. "Today, the authorities are doing everything they can to shift responsibility for their actions onto others," he concluded.

Let us also recall that on April 1, in the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin warned Nikol Pashinyan that combining membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and a course of rapprochement with the European Union was "impossible by definition." He also stated that Moscow "would like" to allow all pro-Russian political forces to participate in the Armenian parliamentary elections. The first Armenia-EU summit, which took place in Yerevan on May 4-5, gave Moscow media an excuse to accuse Pashinyan of "betrayal" and an anti-Russian course.

On May 28, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that "observers from Russia are being denied permission to observe the elections" to the Armenian parliament. She acknowledged that Russian candidates for CIS observers "are on the European Union's sanctions list," but accused Yerevan of "bending over" to the EU. According to her, Moscow "is not ready to accept this logic." "We will be forced to take it into account in our future work with Yerevan," Zakharova stated.

The June elections will effectively become a referendum on the future of the current government and Armenia's foreign policy, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "2026 Elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia".