23:35, 16 June 2026

The Prosecutor General's Office has asked Armenia's Central Election Commission to strip Kocharyan of his immunity.

On June 17, the Central Election Commission of Armenia will consider the Prosecutor General's Office's petition to strip Robert Kocharyan of immunity and prosecute him.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on June 14, the leader of the Armenia bloc and the country's second president, Robert Kocharyan, was barred from departing from Zvartnots Airport without explanation.

On the same day, the Central Election Commission of Armenia announced the final results after the recount. According to them, Prosperous Armenia received 3.893% of the vote, failing to clear the parliamentary threshold. Three parties entered parliament: the Civil Contract party with 49.74% of the vote, the Strong Armenia bloc with 23.27%, and the Armenia bloc with 9.92%. The Civil Contract party received 64 seats in parliament, the Strong Armenia bloc with 29 seats, and the Armenia bloc with 12 seats. Six opposition parties declared the elections illegitimate and blamed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for further escalation of the situation.

The Prosecutor General's Office has petitioned the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia to agree to initiate a criminal case against the country's second minister, Robert Kocharyan. The Central Election Commission's consent to the criminal prosecution of Kocharyan is necessary because he enjoys the immunity granted by law to registered parliamentary candidates, Armenia Today reports.

The Central Election Commission of Armenia will consider the Prosecutor General's Office's petition to strip Robert Kocharyan of his immunity on June 17. The hearing is scheduled for 3:00 PM (2:00 PM Moscow time), Armenia Today reports.

The Prosecutor General's Office did not explain the reason for the planned criminal prosecution of Kocharyan.

Previously, Armenia's second president was charged in the case of the dispersal of a rally in Yerevan on March 1-2, 2008, during which 10 people were killed. In March 2021, the Constitutional Court of Armenia ruled the charges against Kocharyan and other defendants in the case for overthrowing the government unconstitutional, after which the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction dropped their criminal prosecution. In November 2024, the state prosecutor reclassified the charges against Kocharyan and three other high-ranking officials related to the same events to abuse of power.

Oligarch Gagik Tsarukyan's Prosperous Armenia Party, former President Robert Kocharyan's Armenia bloc, and businessman Samvel Karapetyan's Strong Armenia bloc are the most pro-Russian participants in the Armenian parliamentary elections, analysts previously noted.

The parliamentary elections have effectively become a referendum on the future of the current government and Armenia's foreign policy. The "Caucasian Knot" published a report entitled "2026 Elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia".

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/424163