On April 7, the National Assembly of Armenia adopted amendments to the Electoral Code in its second and final reading, introducing a ban on the use of personal names by electoral blocks and parties.

The amendments were supported by 67 deputies, while 6 voted against.

Amendments made to the law on May 7, 2021, established that for elections to the National Assembly and community councils conducted under a proportional system, a ballot would be considered invalid if it contained any notes or marks, or if the envelope contained any item other than the ballot. However, amendments made on December 5, 2024, removed the provision regarding the presence of any additional item in the envelope. In practice, this could have violated a voter’s right to a secret ballot. The provision has now been reinstated to prevent situations where a voter could be bribed by placing an identifying slip of paper in the envelope, for example, with a serial number known only to the payer. Furthermore, the presence of any item other than the official ballot in the envelope can serve as a tool to monitor those who have received bribes.

The amendments also prohibit the use of personal names in the titles of electoral blocks. Specifically, a block’s name cannot include personal names, the names of government bodies or local authorities, or similar titles.

Observers note that this initiative is clearly aimed at the head of the Russian group of companies “Tashir,” Samvel Karapetyan, whose name appears in the title of the block created by his party, “Strong Armenia.”