The absence of Strong Armenia ballots was recorded at one of the polling stations.

A pack of Strong Armenia ballots was missing from a polling station in the village of Jrapi in the Shirak region. The Central Election Commission called the incident a misunderstanding.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, on July 5, the Republic Party submitted a statement to the Central Election Commission of Armenia demanding that the Strong Armenia bloc be suspended from participating in the parliamentary elections. Marianna Ghahramanyan, a representative of Strong Armenia, in turn, stated that Samvel Karapetyan's political force is "ready for all scenarios." The Central Electoral Commission of Armenia rejected the appeal of the Republic Party, which demanded that Samvel Karapetyan's political force be deregistered from the parliamentary elections.

At polling station #33/50 (Jrapi village, Shirak region), bundle of ballots #3 (the number of the "Strong Armenia" bloc) is missing, according to Gohar Meloyan, a member of the "Strong Armenia" party.

"I ask all participants in the election process to check the presence of the ballots and their proper condition (whether they are damaged or not, whether there is a tear or not)," News.Am quotes her as saying.

A video posted on Meloyan's Facebook* shows bundles of ballots laid out on a table. Ballots with #3 are not among them. Sets numbered 1 and 2 are immediately followed by set numbered 4, while ballots numbered 3 are missing.

In the video, the commission chairperson contacts the territorial election commission by phone to clarify the situation. Officials at the polling station reported that they had already informed them of the problem. According to them, it is a technical issue that needs to be resolved, Armenia Today reports.

The CEC press service called the situation a misunderstanding.

"There was a misunderstanding; two sets of ballots numbered 3 were delivered to one polling station. The issue has now been resolved," News.Am quotes the press service representative as saying.

The Armenian parliamentary elections on June 7 will effectively be a referendum on the future of Nikol Pashinyan's government and the country's foreign policy. At stake is the current team's retention of power or its transfer to the opposition, which promises to reconsider key decisions of recent years, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "2026 Elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia".

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 Kremlinis betting on Karapetyan, but by law he cannot participate in the elections, Armenian political scientists previously pointed out.