Raising citizens’ awareness of electoral rights, combating disinformation and developing professional capacity in the regions: these were the objectives of the project “Strengthening Electoral Integrity and Information Resilience in the Regions of Armenia”.
Under the project, lawyers, journalists and civil society representatives in the Shirak, Lori, Gegharkunik and Tavush regions received training on electoral rights, electoral integrity, civic participation and media literacy.
The project was implemented by the Armenian Lawyers’ Association with the support of the New Democracy Fund and International Media Support.
On 16 October, a final workshop was held in Yerevan, at which the project’s results and the recommendations developed under it were presented. The event was attended by representatives of the CSOs that benefited from the project, journalists, lawyers, representatives of state bodies and civil society organisations, as well as the project team and national and international experts.
Under the project, 12 teams made up of lawyers, journalists and civil society representatives were formed and trained in the four regions. The training sessions covered electoral rights, electoral integrity, the dissemination of fact-based information and combating disinformation.
During the project, residents of the Shirak, Lori, Gegharkunik and Tavush regions received legal assistance on 364 occasions. Awareness-raising activities were also carried out: the independent online media outlet Iravaban.net published the series “It’s Your Choice”, comprising 12 videos produced in an accessible format on citizens’ electoral rights and the methodology of disinformation. Regional journalists also prepared materials aimed at combating disinformation.
Karen Zadoyan, President of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association, delivered welcoming remarks at the opening of the event, highlighting the importance of raising citizens’ legal awareness in electoral processes and the need for the continuity of such projects. He stressed that although a single project cannot fully cover and resolve all the problems in the field, it is important for outlining the trends in the sector and the range of obstacles.
Karen Zadoyan emphasised the importance of disseminating fact-based and objective information and of raising citizens’ legal awareness, stressing that speaking out about violations of rights is not a disgrace but an honour.
During the workshop, international experts addressed the protection of voters’ rights, the safeguards of electoral integrity and citizens’ involvement in electoral processes from the perspective of international experience, and of Moldova’s experience in particular.
Igor Botan, an international expert on electoral rights and electoral integrity, presented Moldova’s experience, including comparative observations on the electoral systems of Armenia and Moldova.
Polina Panainte, a senior international expert on civic mobilisation and media literacy, spoke about the mechanisms for involving citizens in electoral processes and the importance of information resilience. She also presented Moldova’s experience and, for discussion, observations on developing civic participation and media literacy in Armenia.
Mariam Zadoyan, the project’s national expert, addressed the protection of voters’ rights, Armenia’s electoral system and the legal assessment of the 2026 legislative amendments.
She also presented the observations gathered during the regional consultations and recommendations aimed at protecting electoral rights. These include ensuring public discussions on legislative amendments, studying voting mechanisms for citizens abroad, improving the professional training of electoral commissions and strengthening cooperation in preventing electoral corruption.
Another important area of the project was the study of citizens’ involvement in electoral processes and of information resilience.
In May this year, 251 citizens took part in 16 community seminars. Syuzanna Soghomonyan, the project’s national expert, presented the findings of the study, addressing the factors hindering citizens’ participation, trust in electoral processes and the impact of disinformation. The study data are not representative; however, they made it possible to identify the problems and trends recorded during the regional meetings.
Summing up the experts’ presentations, it was emphasised that the protection of electoral rights, public trust and media literacy are interconnected. The recommendations presented are aimed at ensuring the fairness of electoral processes and expanding opportunities for citizens’ participation.
Under the project, the electoral legislation of the Republic of Armenia, international standards, the reports and recommendations addressed to Armenia, as well as Moldova’s experience, were studied in order to assess the opportunities for protecting electoral rights. Based on this analysis, the national experts proposed revisiting the regulation adopted in 2026 which, as a condition for exercising the right to vote, introduced a requirement of actual presence in Armenia for at least 366 days during the last two years. The recommendations aim to ensure that the electoral legislation complies with international standards and to expand the opportunities for citizens of the Republic of Armenia abroad to exercise their right to vote, including by revisiting the scope of exceptions.
In the second part of the workshop, the Electoral Integrity Initiative Group was established. Its aim is to ensure continued cooperation among civil society organisations, to increase the effectiveness of the monitoring and oversight of electoral processes, and to contribute to the improvement of electoral legislation and to cooperation with the bodies responsible for organising and overseeing electoral processes, based on international experience and standards. The group is also intended to implement sectoral initiatives and to ensure that work to strengthen electoral integrity continues consistently.
The project’s results and the recommendations presented are aimed at strengthening the protection of electoral rights, raising citizens’ awareness and participation, and combating disinformation. In the view of the participants and experts, increasing trust in electoral processes requires not only legal safeguards, but also informed civic participation and media literacy.
The project “Strengthening Electoral Integrity and Information Resilience in the Regions of Armenia” is implemented by the Armenian Lawyers’ Association NGO with the financial support of the New Democracy Fund (NDF).
The Armenian Lawyers’ Association NGO is solely responsible for the content, which does not necessarily reflect the views of the New Democracy Fund (NDF).
Read this article in Armenian here.
